Wage Garnishment Lawyer Clearwater, FL

---

Wage garnishment lawyer in Clearwater, Florida

Wage garnishment refers to a legal procedure in which a portion of someone’s earnings are withheld by an employer, IRS or creditor due to a debt. The IRS or a state tax agency can perform garnishments for debts including tax and non-tax debts owed to the government. There are many questions associated with wage garnishment and many employees try to learn if what their company is doing is legal. To learn more about wage garnishment and the legalities, you should contact the wage garnishment lawyer Clearwater, FL trusts. Ziegler Diamond Law: Debt Fighters is dedicated to help ensure you are receiving the proper compensation.

Are There Restrictions on Wage Garnishment?
The amount of money that is taken from a person’s earnings depends on their amount of disposable income (what is left after tax deductions). A knowledgeable wage garnishment lawyer from Clearwater will explain that there is a minimum amount that is allowed to be garnished for any given pay period or workweek, regardless of how many garnish orders the employer receives.

How Do I Know My Employer Won’t Take Advantage?
A wage garnishment lawyer in Florida knows there are laws that protect an employee from being fired due to owing debts that need to be garnished. Additionally, there is a limit to how much can be taken from a person’s earnings at a time. Anyone with personal earnings such as wages, commission, salary, pensions, retirement program or other type of income is protected under law which can prevent an employer or company from taking advantage.

What if My Employer Fails to Comply with a Garnishment Order?
If you submit a request for a portion of your pay to be allocated for paying debts, and he or she does not follow in accordance, you can hold your employer responsible. You can start by filing a claim with a wage garnishment attorney Clearwater Fl for an amount in which the employer failed to withhold from disposable pay. Due to this inconvenience, your employer can be liable for lawyer costs and fees associated with the lawsuit, in addition to punitive damages.

Are There Any Other Circumstances for Wage Garnishment?
If a person is responsible for paying child support and/or alimony, then the law permits up to half of the wage to be garnished in order to fulfill this requirement. If the payment is significantly late, an additional 5% can be garnished for support costs.

What is Not Considered Wage Garnishment?
If an employee voluntarily permits an employer to turn over a portion of their earnings to creditors, that is not considered wage garnishment. Garnishing only occurs due to owing either the IRS, employer or a creditor company.

How Can I Stop Wage Garnishment?
Every state can work differently, however for the most part a wage garnishment cannot be removed until you have paid off the tax balance or show it is causing substantial hardship. You may be able to request a lowering of the wage levy, but cannot eliminating it completely.

How Can I Avoid Being Garnished from the Government?
The biggest way to avoid your wages from being garnished is to stay on top of your tax filings and pay all amount owed. If for any reason you are unable to pay, you can seek the assistance of  licensed wage garnishment attorneys for tax help.

 

Interplay between wage garnishment and bankruptcy?

Garnishment is when someone you owe money sues you to obtain an order to take money from your paycheck to repay the money you owe them. There are certain types of debt you may owe that does not require a court order in order to take money from your paycheck to pay. These include child support, alimony, taxes owed to federal, state or local entities, or student loans.

 

If you owe money to other creditors, they first have to sue you in court to win a judgment against you. If you do not pay, the court will issue an order that is given to your employer that states how much money they can take, or garnish, from each paycheck in order to repay the debt. There are limits to how much these types of creditors can take. The amount is generally no more than 25 percent of your disposable income.

 

There are ways to work with your creditors if you do not want your wages to be garnished or if you cannot pay back the debt. Consult with a wage garnishment lawyer in Clearwater, FL to discuss the options available to you to put an end to most of the wage garnishments.

 

Bankruptcy

If you file for bankruptcy, most wage garnishments will stop. However, it will not stop the garnishments for spousal or child support.

 

When you petition to file for bankruptcy, a court order, known the automatic stay, is immediately put into place. The stay lets creditors know that they cannot continue their collection actions, including garnishing your wages. This stay is only good for thirty days. If this is not your first bankruptcy, the judge may not even allow the automatic stay to be used.

 

If you file for bankruptcy, let your employer and the creditor that is garnishing your wages of your actions immediately. You will need to give them the case number for the bankruptcy, the date you filed, and the court where you filed for bankruptcy.

 

After you inform the creditor, they must stop garnishing your wages. It is really difficult to try to get back any wages that have been previously garnished, so if you think you will be filing for bankruptcy, do it as soon as possible to avoid more of your wages to be garnished. In order to get any of the previously garnished money back you would need to go to bankruptcy court and file a claim against your creditor. Weigh the amount you could get back to the court and attorney costs to determine whether or not it is a good idea to try to retrieve the money.

 

Will Bankruptcy Eliminate the Debt?

You will not be responsible for any debt that you got discharged because of the bankruptcy. These debts may include credit card debt, medical expenses, or personal, unsecured loans. Nondischargeable debts, however, any debt you incur after filing for bankruptcy, will remain your responsibility to repay.

A wage garnishment lawyer in Clearwater, FL can answer your explain wage garnishment and if bankruptcy is an option in your circumstance.

It is important that you are receiving the correct amount of compensation for your hard work. If you are concerned about your employer garnishing your wages, contact the wage garnishment lawyer Clearwater, FL residents call first. Contact Ziegler Diamond Law: Debt Fighters, today to schedule a free case evaluation.