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Summary: Wyoming favors its consumers by enforcing wage garnishment laws that protect their rights. Creditors have to go the extra mile to be successful in taking a cut from the debtor’s wages, meaning you have a window period to fight the garnishment order. You can avoid wage garnishment by settling your debt with the help of SoloSettle.
In Wyoming, a wage garnishment order can be issued by a court or a government agency, directing an employer to withhold a portion of your wages to pay off a debt. Dealing with wage garnishment can be an overwhelming and stressful experience for anyone.
Fortunately, options are available to stop wage garnishment in Wyoming. Taking action to stop the garnishment can provide much-needed relief and reduce financial stress. This article will discuss three ways to reduce or stop wage garnishment. Before we get to it, here are Wyoming garnishment laws you must consider.
Sued for debt? Avoid wage garnishment when you settle your debt with the help of SoloSettle.
Wyoming Statutes §1-15-401 to 425 lists the requirements creditors and employers must follow to ensure debtors' rights are protected before and after a wage garnishment order is given. The following is a summary of the primary state laws.
Maximum amount
In Wyoming, creditors are limited to garnishing at most 25% of your disposable income. The law also provides additional protection for individuals with low incomes. For instance, if you earn less than 30 times the federal minimum wage per week ($7.25 per hour), your wages are fully protected from garnishment. (WY. Stat. §1-15-408)
Exemption from garnishment
Wyoming law exempts income meant to meet a household's basic needs and various benefits such as disability, veteran, workers’ compensation, and retirement benefits.
Notice requirements
In Wyoming, creditors must provide written notice to employees before initiating wage garnishment. The notice must include information about the debt amount, the percentage of wages garnished, and the right to request a hearing.
Employer responsibility
An employer cannot demote, discriminate, or fire an employee whose wages are undergoing garnishment. Instead, the employer must provide the information the creditor needs to ensure the order is successful.
Now let's look at the specific ways to stop wage garnishment.
Fight a wage garnishment
If you do not believe a wage garnishment order was given in a fair and just manner, you can object to it. It’s a good idea to fight a garnishment if you believe the order did not factor in one or more of the following reasons:
The debt quoted in the order is incorrect, making the garnishment amount inaccurate.
The creditor agreed to a new payment plan, and you have the written agreement.
You paid the debt in full, and the creditor did not update his records.
More than 50% of your income supports your household.
Your income falls under public assistance.
The court will review your objections and may call for a hearing for further clarification. Afterward, the judge will decide whether to grant or deny your request.
You can avoid wage garnishment in the first place by responding to your debt lawsuit. Many wage garnishment orders are a result of consumers not responding to their debt lawsuits. SoloSuit makes responding to a debt collection case simple and fast. Our software can help you create a personalized Answer to your lawsuit. Watch the following video to learn more.
File a claim of exemption
A claim of exemption allows you to request the court to reconsider the garnishment order amount, and if granted, protect either a portion of or your entire income from being taken by the creditor. Valid reasons accepted by the courts are:
You have dependents and need most of the wages to maintain basic living expenses such as food, housing, and medical care.
You have a disability and rely on your wages to cover medical expenses and other necessary costs.
Your income falls beneath the federal poverty threshold.
You receive social security and retirement benefits.
The garnishment process and outcome were unjust or unfair.
To receive an exemption, you must provide documentation and evidence to support your claim. Afterward, the judge will decide whether to reduce or stop the garnishment order. Here is an example to illustrate.
Example:
Example: Dennis had a pending garnishment order of $80 from Better Credits. His weekly wage was $215. After reading SoloSuit’s article on how to stop wage garnishment, he realized his income qualified for exemption because he earned less than 30 times the federal minimum wage ($217.5). He produced his payslip and bank statement as evidence, and the court stopped the garnishment order.
Negotiate with the creditor
Creditors often agree to negotiate with debtors if they promise to clear the lowered debt amount or pay a lump sum and clear the rest within a short period. Therefore, if you have money saved or expect some soon, you can negotiate with the creditor and stop the garnishment order through debt settlement.
SoloSettle tool can help you get a favorable settlement deal. Our software sends and receives settlement offers until you reach an agreement with your creditor or debt collector. SoloSettle also helps you manage the debt settlement documentation and can transfer your settlement funds to the creditor/collector, protecting your personal and financial information and ensuring no fraudulent transactions.
To learn more about how debt settlement can help you avoid wage garnishment in Wyoming, check out the following video:
What is Solo?
Solo makes it easy to resolve debt with debt collectors.
You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt. SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.
SoloSettle can help you contact your debt collector or creditor and negotiate the debt to settle for less, all online. It simplifies and streamlines the process to settling your debt.
No matter where you find yourself in the debt collection process, Solo is here to help you resolve your debt.
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And 50% of our customers' cases have been dismissed in the past.
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