Having Your Paycheck Garnished In Colorado
Does a creditor have to serve you before it can garnish your paycheck? The answer is a little complicated. Read on to learn more.
I get a lot of calls from people on payday. Unfortunately, that’s when many people find out that they’re check has been garnished by a creditor. In Colorado, creditors can take 20% of your take home pay. That’s a huge chunk of income.
The first question they have is whether a creditor can garnish them without serving them first. The answer is yes, although it requires a small explanation.
A creditor can start garnishing your paycheck without serving you any paperwork, but it cannot serve your employer a writ of garnishment without getting judgment first.
In order for a creditor to get judgment in Colorado, it has to serve you a summons to inform you of the lawsuit. It must serve you in person, but it can also serve any adult living in your home, or it can leave the summons with your boss or human resources department. If you don’t respond to the summons, the creditor is going to get judgment. Once it has judgment, it can start garnishing you.
You might be able to fight the garnishment, but only for limited reasons. First, if the creditor never properly served you, you can ask the court to set aside the judgment. You’ll have to go to the court clerk and find out who it served and then convince the court that the creditor didn’t serve you properly. Second, you can object to the garnishment if you believe your wages are exempt from collection or if you believe that the amount that is being garnished has been miscalculated. If you object, there will likely be a hearing on your objection, and you’ll have to present evidence to support your argument.
Unfortunately, in most cases the only way to stop a garnishment is to file bankruptcy. This may be something you want to consider if the amount of judgment is large and will take a long time to pay off, or if there are multiple creditors waiting in line to garnish. As soon as one garnishment ends, another will start.
Bankruptcy Will Stop Garnishment Immediately
The good news I have for prospective clients is that bankruptcy will stop garnishment the moment I upload their petition to the Colorado bankruptcy court‘s website.
Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can help you eliminate debt or reorganize your finances to help you overcome overwhelming debt.
During an initial consultation, we’ll discuss your bankruptcy options to see which would be best for you. We want to make sure you eliminate as much debt as possible and retain as much of your assets as possible.
Our initial consultation usually lasts about 30 minutes, and we’ll go over a bunch of information about your income, debts, assets, and expenses. It can feel intrusive, but we want to make sure you get through the bankruptcy process without any surprises.
Talk To An Experienced Colorado Bankruptcy Attorney About Stopping Garnishments Today!
If you’d like to know how bankruptcy can help you by stopping garnishments and other collection activity, consider talking to a Colorado bankruptcy attorney. We offer free consultations to people who are considering bankruptcy.
The easiest way to schedule an appointment for a time that is convenient for you is by going to our scheduling page.
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Why Should I Choose Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Instead of Chapter 7?