Wage Garnishment Lawyer

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Wage garnishment is serious business. A creditor who wins the right to garnish your wages can make your life miserable by seizing a large portion of your weekly income. If you’re currently experiencing wage garnishment, you may find it hard to pay for things you need, like a place to live and food to eat.

People who are not under wage garnishment but see the signs that a creditor might sue them should prepare themselves. A creditor who wins a debt lawsuit against you will gain a judgment they can use to garnish your wages or freeze your bank account. In some cases, it makes sense to hire a wage garnishment lawyer to protect you.

What a wage garnishment lawyer does

A wage garnishment lawyer can defend you in a debt lawsuit or help you exempt some of your earnings from wage garnishment. If you’re experiencing severe financial issues, a wage garnishment lawyer can help you decide whether bankruptcy is an option.

Remember, no creditor can garnish your wages without winning permission from the court. If you’ve recently received notice of a pending debt lawsuit, it’s critical to take action fast before the creditor wins the case.

Wage garnishment lawyers charge a fee for their services, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Before hiring an attorney, consider the amount of the debt lawsuit. If you owe less than $1,000, a lawyer’s services might not be worthwhile.

You can handle many of the tasks of a wage garnishment lawyer for minor debt lawsuits. SoloSuit has the tools to help you file an Answer to a debt lawsuit or attempt a settlement, both of which will help you avoid wage garnishment.

Watch the following video to learn how to respond to a debt lawsuit.

Here are the steps of a debt lawsuit

Debt lawsuits start when a creditor files a Complaint against you in your local court. You’ll receive a copy of the Complaint along with a court Summons. The Complaint will list information about your debt, including the amount you owe and your account number.

You must respond to a Complaint with a formal document known as an Answer. An Answer lists defenses to the lawsuit and prevents the creditor from asking the judge for a default judgment. If you hire a wage garnishment lawyer, they’ll prepare your Answer for you. However, you can also draft an Answer yourself.

SoloSuit has a Debt Answer template you can use in every state — try it out!

If you don’t have a defense against the lawsuit that will hold water with the judge, it’s best to repay or settle the debt before your court date. Repaying the debt means you won’t need to worry about court anymore since you’ll no longer owe any money to the creditor.

However, you might not have the financial means to repay the full debt in time. In that case, you can try debt settlement.

In a debt settlement, you offer the creditor a portion of the debt in a lump-sum payment. The creditor agrees to drop the lawsuit against you and release you from the remaining obligation. A wage garnishment lawyer can assist you with the settlement process and work out a deal you and your creditor accept.

Let’s consider an example.

If you don’t have the money for a debt settlement, very few alternatives outside bankruptcy can help you avoid a judgment. However, some states have laws that protect some of your income from garnishment.

You may want to explore debt settlement options without hiring an attorney. If that’s the case, use SoloSettle to send and receive settlement offers until you reach an agreement with your creditor or debt collector.

Hiring a wage garnishment lawyer is costly

The primary issue with hiring a wage garnishment lawyer is the cost. Hiring an attorney usually doesn't make sense in minor disputes of a few thousand dollars. Attorney’s fees may increase the amount you pay by 50% or more, and there’s no guarantee the attorney can prevent a judgment against you.

Carefully consider whether your case warrants a lawyer or whether handling the matter yourself is better.

Want to avoid court? Use SoloSettle to settle your debt before the court date.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight 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.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

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Guides on how to beat every debt collector

Being sued by a different debt collector? Were making guides on how to beat each one.

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