Wage Garnishment Lawyer in Tucson, AZ
Wage Garnishment in Tucson and Arizona
What is wage garnishment?
Wage garnishment is a legal process whereby a portion of an individual’s wages are withheld by their employer and paid directly to creditors. Wage garnishment can be ordered by a court or government agency in cases of unpaid taxes, child support, or other debts.
In most cases, wage garnishment is initiated by a creditor who has obtained a judgment against the debtor. Once the judgment is obtained, the creditor will send a notice to the debtor’s employer ordering them to withhold a certain amount of the debtor’s wages and pay it directly to the creditor.
The amount that can be garnished from an individual’s wages is governed by federal and state law. Under federal law, the amount that can be garnished from an individual’s wages is capped at 25% of their disposable income.
Disposable income is defined as the amount of an individual’s wages that remain after mandatory deductions, such as taxes and insurance.
In Arizona, the amount that can be garnished from an individual’s wages is capped at the lesser of 25% of their disposable income or the amount by which their disposable income exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage.
How Can I Stop a Wage Garnishment?
If you are already facing wage garnishment, there are a few ways that you may be able to stop it.
First, you can try to negotiate with the creditor to reach a repayment agreement. This can be difficult to do on your own, so you may want to consider hiring a debt settlement lawyer to help you negotiate with the creditor.
If you are unable to reach a repayment agreement with the creditor, you can file a motion with the court to reduce the garnishment percentage to 15%.
The court will then hold a hearing, at which you will have the opportunity to explain why the garnishment should be reduced due to financial hardship.
If the court finds that the garnishment is causing you undue hardship, it may order the garnishment percentage reduced from 25% to 15%.
If you are facing wage garnishment, it is important to speak with an experienced Tucson wage garnishment lawyer as soon as possible. We assist in filing bankruptcy cases, which stop wage garnishment immediately. The underlying debt is discharged, and our office gets the lawsuit against you dismissed so you can never be garnished again.
Call us at (520) 777-2198 or fill out our form a free consultation.
Once a Garnishment has started, the only thing you can do is pay it, have the garnishment percentage reduced via a court hearing, or file bankruptcy and stop the garnishment completely under the federal automatic stay.
One of the biggest benefits of filing for bankruptcy is that it puts an automatic stay on most collection actions, including wage garnishment. The automatic stay is a court order that stops creditors from taking any collection actions against you, including wage garnishment, once you have filed for bankruptcy.
Office Location
Meiners Law Office, PLC
Address: 4400 E Broadway Blvd
Suite 600S, Tucson, AZ 85711
Phone: (520) 777-2198