How to Stop a Garnishment in 5 Minutes Flat! Bankruptcy and Emergency Filings

In Arizona once a creditor has a judgment against you they can seek to garnish up to 25% of each of your paychecks.  Losing a full quarter of your income every two weeks is enough to put many families under.  In light of this it is no surprise that when a family does get hit with a wage garnishment they often come in to visit with me about a bankruptcy filing.  The goal in meeting with me is to get the garnishment stopped and to get it stopped now.

The Arizona bankruptcy court utilizes a system known as the Electronic Court Filing system (ECF) that allows bankruptcy attorneys to file documents electronically 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  This system is very useful in getting bankruptcy cases filed and getting them filed quickly.

Emergency Bankruptcy Filings

Prior to your wages actually being garnished you will receive notice of the garnishment by your employer.  If you move quickly you will be able to stop the garnishment before it ever happens by filing for bankruptcy.  When a bankruptcy case is filed the bankruptcy court immediately enters an order that stops all collection efforts against you.  This order will stop the garnishment of your wages and even prohibits creditors from calling you on the phone.  Timing is important here because sometimes, even when get the bankruptcy case filed, your employer has already processed payroll and the money has been taken out.  Because of this it is important to get your bankruptcy case filed several days prior to your pay day.

An emergency filing is usually done when there is impending collection activities – like a garnishment or foreclosure – that you would like to stop.  All that is necessary for your emergency bankruptcy filing is to file a petition containing your name, address, social security number and a copy of a pre-filing credit counseling course (I can help you get signed up for the course).  Once you have the credit counseling course completed I can take this information and have your case filed within 5 minutes.  The remaining documents containing information on your debts, assets, income, and expenses will be filed within the next two weeks.

Don’t Delay

If you get served with a lawsuit, don’t ignore it.  It won’t simply go away.  Likewise, if things have progressed to the point where a garnishment has been filed, you need to act quickly to avoid having your pay taken.  If you delay in meeting with a bankruptcy attorney you run the risk of having 25% of your next check taken and every check thereafter.  If you have received garnishment documents from your employer, or if you have been sued and are worried about garnishment, give me a call today.  We can meet in a bankruptcy consultation and put together a plan to help you avoid garnishment and become debt free.  I can be reached at (480) 420-4028 or via email at john@skibalaw.com .