"How To Not Pay A Judgement" Discussion

Upsolve Community Member
Hi William, You may be a good fit for filing bankruptcy now. Here is an article to give you some guidance: https://upsolve.org/learn/should-i-file-for-chapter-7-bankruptcy/

Upsolve Community Member
What is judgement proof? 

Upsolve Community Member
Great question, Sara! The article titled https://upsolve.org/learn/mean-judgment-proof/ in our Learning Center has information about that! 

Upsolve Community Member
If you're earning wages, you may not be https://upsolve.org/learn/mean-judgment-proof/. 

Upsolve Community Member
Whether you're judgment proof depends on specific circumstances, such as the type of income you're receiving, the amount, and other factors. 

Upsolve Community Member
This might also be helpful: https://upsolve.org/learn/stop-wage-garnishment/

Upsolve Community Member
Faisal, may I ask about your timeline? This "Debtor" has garnished your wages? How long has it been since you have COMMUNICATED or made a payment to this debtor? After working with my Trustee during the BK process, I gained more insight as to how the "system" views wage garnishments. Curious...

Upsolve Community Member
 Hi Merri, please find resource on wage garnishment https://upsolve.org/learn/category/wage-garnishment/

Upsolve Community Member
Merri, it might be helpful to contact the creditor to get more information. Generally speaking, a garnishment is only supposed to pay off the balance owed, not be a permanent arrangement. 

Upsolve Community Member
You might find it helpful to reach out to the creditor and determine if there's more debt than you expected, if an error happened, or something else. 

Upsolve Community Member
A lot depends on what state you are in, but garnishments can often be renewed or revived if the entire debt wasn't paid off. But as Claire mentioned, the garnishment is to pay off the balance owed, they can't collect more than you owe! There are also limits to how much of your paycheck creditors can garnish.  You might be able to file for an exemption. (Here's more info: https://upsolve.org/learn/wage-garnishment-exemptions/) You can also ask your employer for a copy of the garnishment papers to learn more about the garnishment. They got served too. (In fact, chances are they were supposed to give you certain notices.) Look at the notices and legal papers for a court name and maybe even a case number.  You can ask the court clerk for a copy of the judgment and it will state how much you owe. If you paid more than you owe or there's some other mishap be sure to talk to a consumer protection attorney! This article explains how a consumer protection attorney can help: https://upsolve.org/learn/what-is-a-consumer-protection-attorney/ 

Upsolve Community Member
Hi Kimberly! Technically, you were to list everybody you owe or have an account with. This article should help: https://upsolve.org/learn/bills-to-pay-after-bankruptcy/ I hope this helps! :-)

Upsolve Community Member
Yes, Mark is absolutely correct. Once the stay goes into effect. Collection must stop on eligible debt. 

Upsolve Community Member
Mark shared a great article! Read that and let us know if you have any other questions about this! 

Upsolve Community Member
Yes, I did list all my creditors...just seems odd to stop paying the ones I had been keeping up with...I get it though!  What about garnishments from judgements?  The article didn't really say a lot about those...I received a notice of garnishment right before I filed my paperwork in court...and then a few days later a form from the treasury about our income tax refund and how much of it was mine and my husband's before they would release any funds for garnishment.  I did let the treasury know I had filed for bankruptcy in my return response to them.

Upsolve Community Member
This should help! https://upsolve.org/learn/when-wage-garnishment-stop-after-file/ 

Upsolve Community Member
The Upsolve article https://upsolve.org/learn/erase-judgments-bankruptcy/ explains what happens to judgments during bankruptcy. You might also be interested in this article https://upsolve.org/learn/mean-judgment-proof/

Upsolve Community Member
Great question. If the underlying debt is dischargeable in bankruptcy and there is no judgment lien, then the judgment does not change the status of the debt. To get clarity on what is dischargeable debt, read this Upsolve article: https://upsolve.org/learn/type-debt-erase-chapter-7-bankruptcy/

Upsolve Community Member
Does that help, William! Thanks so much for asking!