I get calls every month from people who say they are surprised that they have received a summons!

Let’s see….

• You took our loans or charged up credit cards.
• Due to circumstances beyond your control, you have not been able to make the minimum required payments due each month.
• You received several calls, letters or emails from the creditors, but ignored them.
• Someone knocks on your door and hands you a SUMMONS!

SURPRISED?   Now what?

First…DON’T PANIC!

• You are not going to jail!
• You will not have to go to court!
• They are not going to garnish your next paycheck (UNLESS YOU IGNORE THE SUMMONS)
• They are not going to garnish your bank account. (UNLESS YOU IGNORE THE SUMMONS)
• They are not going to come take all of your belongings!
• At least….NOT YET!

If you have secured loans…where there is collateral (home, car, boat, RV, motorcycle, etc.), the situation is different!

If you default on a loan where there is collateral, the creditor or collector may decide to repossess the item! Be AWARE!

OK, but in this article, I’m taking about UNSECURED DEBT:

• Credit cards
• Personal loans
• Medical bills
• Personal line of credit
• Store cards, etc.
• Auto Repo

To prevent a summons and the start of the “legal” process, you need to understand the basic process and/or option a creditor or collector has.

The Summons Process

• After attempting to contact you (remember all those calls, letters and emails?)

• The creditor or collector may retain an attorney to

• You will receive a SUMMONS. This is usually hand delivered, but can be left with someone at your residence. Sometimes the server will deliver to your place of employment.
• The summons will state something to the effect that you have 20 or 30 days after receipt of the summons to ” ANSWER THE CLAIM.”
• An answer is your side of the story that you would file ONLY if you can PROVE WITH DOCUMENTATION, that you do not owe the amount of the claim
• If you owe the debt, there is no reason to spend the time or money for an answer. YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO TO COURT.
• Contact the attorney for the plaintiff (the creditor). If you are employed and receive normal W-2 wages, you need to try and work out a repayment plan so they do not proceed with the legal action.

So, what can you do or could you have done to

PREVENT THE SUMMONS?

FIRST OPTION:

Contact the creditor/collector and try to work our a “catch up” plan to start repaying the debt you owe.

The problem with this option is that you most likely cannot afford the payments.

The same is true with a Debt Management or Credit Counseling Program.

Not a bad idea IF YOU CAN AFFORD THE PAYMENTS!

SECOND OPTION:

Once your account has been charged off (the creditor has kind of “given up” on collecting the debt on their own), the account is usually placed with a DEBT COLLECTOR.

Now you can try to SETTLE the account for LESS THAN THE FULL BALANCE.

The process is time consuming and stressful, but usually (not all the time), the collector will agree to a SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

This agreement is usually for 40%-70% (in some cases even lower) of the balance due.

Of course, the collector wants the amount of the settlement in a LUMP SUM, but I doubt you have that kind of money. If you did, you probably would not have gotten behind in the first place! RIGHT!

Yes, you can also negotiate TERMS/MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN on the settlement.

Again, they want the monthly amount as large as possible and the length of the plan to be as little as possible. You have to negotiate strongly to get a plan that fits your budget. Not easy!

 IF ALL ELSE FAILS….BANKRUTPCY MAY BE YOUR ONLY OPTION

If you failed in trying to work out a reasonable repayment plan.

If you failed in trying to negotiate a reasonable settlement.

Then you may the assistance of a Bankruptcy Attorney to protect you from:

• Bank Levies
• Wage Garnishment

Bankruptcy is a “scarry” word to most people, but bankruptcy laws are to help us protect ourselves from creditors and/or collectors devastating our lives.

Contact several attorneys in the area where you live.

The initial appointment (may be by telephone only) should be FREE. If not, keep looking!

To wrap up…

When you find yourself in a financially stressful situation whereby you are falling behind or simply cannot make the required monthly payments due, DO NOT IGNORE THE OPTIONS YOU HAVE FOR REPAYMENT OR SETTLEMENT!

Be pro-active…don’t “hide you head in the sand” so to speak.

For more information…click below:

Photo credit

Several years ago, my wife and I faced one of the darkest times of our lives.  Although we were in a financial mess, we found a way to work through it.

Hopefully, our story may help someone else. 

Here goes...

I never dreamed that I would ever be in a situation where I could not pay my bills!

With a good job that paid me a better than average income and my wife earning a good salary as well, we were  living the "good life", until.....

Our lives dramatically changed!

I had been working for the same company for about 10 years, was in charge of a large area of the country, and my sales and sales team usually led the company.

This meant that I was getting a nice bonus each year as well as my large salary!

Like I said, "Life was good!"

Although I had heard the rumors about a possible sale of the company to a larger competitor, I was told "Don't worry, even if this happens, you'll be OK".

Right!

One afternoon, my supervisor called me into his office and I could tell that something was up.

After a few minutes of chit-chat, he finally came out with it and let me know that the sale was going to happen, and that the new company was going to terminate my position and replace me and my team with their own people!

I just stood there...in shock, thinking...

            "What was I going to do?"

So, here I was:

• Unemployed (for the first time in my life!)
• Have a mortgage (nice, large home!)
• Family (2 kids, ages 8 and 10)
• A little over 40
• No real job prospects in a bad economy!

I knew I was in trouble and I was starting to panic!

JOB SEARCH, BILLS, and STRESS

I sent out dozens of resumes and went on several interviews, but no luck.

One night, my wife and sat down and completed a "Home Budget Worksheet".

Even though I kinda had an idea of what came in and what went out, I really hadn't ever taken the time to track it carefully. 

After all, we were making great money and really had nothing to worry about.

Boy, was I shocked to see the real numbers!

We found out that we were spending a lot of money on things we really didn't have to have, such as:

• Starbucks coffee
• Athletic club membership (that I rarely used)
• Internet and TV Service that included about 1,000 shows and channels we rarely watched!
• Going out to dinner a couple of times a week
• You get the picture...

And then....

The hot water heater stopped working.  

The plumber said that there was nothing he could do to repair it as it was just too old.

With our savings just about gone, I had to use one of my credit cards to buy a new one and pay for the installation.  

Even though the total was about $1,000, it really only increased my minimum monthly payment by $25 or so.

And the spriral started...

It was better than nothing, but the final take home pay was just not enough to cover everything.

I was really beginning to stress out!

CREDIT CARDS TO THE RESCUE?

We had no choice but to pay only the absolute essential bills like the mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc. and let the credit card bills, medical bills, and yes, even the car payment get behind. 

I mean, what else could we do?

Sure, there was a little equity in our home, but with our bad credit rating, we wouldn't qualify for a second mortgage or refinance.

Over time, I had to use the cards to make up the shortage we faced each month.

As the total credit card debt was increasing due to late fees and over-the-limit fees, we had to use a CASH ADVANCE once in a while just to pay a utility bill or buy groceries!

The crazy thing was, even though we hadn't made a payment in 3-4 months, and were getting nasty letters from our creditors, we would still get an OFFER from a credit card company for another card or to consolidate all the others with a BALANCE TRANSFER!

We actually had three cards from one company!  Made no sense!

Sure, this "rob Peter to pay Paul" action was holding them off, but we knew that a"day of reckoning was coming!"

DECISION TIME!!!

One evening, after the kids were asleep, we sat down at the kitchen table and took a long, honest look at our situation.

There just wasn't enough money to cover all of our expenses and bills.

It looked like BANKRUPTCY was our only option.

As we discussed this, my wife told me that she had a friend who had gone through a similar financial situation and had prevented choosing bankruptcy by going through a Debt Settlement Program.

I called the company she had used, but after a few minutes talking to the rep on the phone, I just didn't have a good feeling.

It seemed that all he wanted to do was to get us to "sign up" right away and that he really wasn't listening to our particular situation.

Tried the DIY method to negotiate settlements

I tried to contact the debt collectors myself, but soon learned that they did not care about our situation and were not very sympathetic and usually very rude.

Sure, they were willing to settle the account for a little less than the full balance, but they wanted the money in a lump sum!

I lost my temper and told one guy, " You %%#@*&^%, if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't be in this situation!"  He seemed as if he could care less.

I was angry and embarrassed!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT DEBT SETTLEMENT COMPANY

After several frustrating attempts like this, I went online and checked out a couple of debt settlement company's Better Business Bureau reports.

There weren't very many that were accredited and had an A+ rating with no complaints!

It was very evident that not all debt settlement companies were the same!

Since they all seemed to offer the same services, we decided to narrow the field by using the following tests....

• Their Better Business Bureau record
• Registration with our proper government divisions
• Examples of actual settlements for their clients
• Positive testimonials from satisfied clients
• They had to REALLY LISTENED AND WERE SYMPATHETIC TO US!

After calling a few, we decided to go with a company that seemed to meet the criteria we wanted.

THE PROCESS

Once we enrolled, the first thing they did was to put a stop to those annoying and basically harassing calls from the collectors!

I can't tell you how great it was to have someone "in our corner" now!

We had stopped sending payments to the creditors (just didn't have the money!)for about the last 3 or 4 months and some of our accounts had already been turned over to a Debt Collector.

We started making monthly deposits (what little we our budget would allow) into an FDIC insured account for future settlements.

This monthly deposit was a little less than half of what the total minimum payments would have been, so this really helped!

Over time, the company was able to settle each of our debts!

Some of them were settled at less than 50%, saving us a lot of money!

I really appreciated the service we received.  It helped calm us during the whole process.

Well, it took about 4 years to get all of our debts settled (we had enrolled about $40,000 of various unsecured debts), but it was well worth it.

When we had questions or concerns, we were always able to talk to our representative and/or the negotiator.

Not only did we save thousands of dollars through the settlements, our CREDIT SCORES started to improve!

TODAY

Here we are, still in our home, no creditors calling, all of our credit cards have a $0 balance (we actually cut them all up!) and we FEEL GREAT!

Even though we could have, we are very glad we didn't turn to Bankruptcy Protection.

Hope this has been helpful!

Debt Settlement is not for everyone, but for us, it worked better than we expected:

 Photo Credit

Trying to decide if you should enroll in a Debt Settlement Program?

Debt Settlement is an option that few people know about.

Did you know that given the right circumstances, most lenders will eventually accept an  amount that much less than the full amount to clear an old account from their books!

I'm talking about unsecured debts like:

• credit cards
• personal bank loans
• medical bills
• store cards
• "pay-day" type loans
• and others

Now, although I've been helping people settle debts such as these for many years, and know that it can really help, not everyone should enroll in a debt settlement program.

WHAT?

Let say you find yourself with $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 or more of unsecured debts and although you are making the minimum payments each month, you are just not seeing the balances reduced due to high interest rates and fees, a DEBT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM may be (notice..."may be") what you need.

You can check out my link above for full details of how a Debt Management Program works, but basically{

• Each of your creditors agrees to lower the interest rate and in many cases stop or forgive late or over the limit fees.
• You will make one payment that is about the same (and sometimes a little more) to the company and they will pay each of your creditors according to the agreements.
• This type of program usually take about 48 months and according to the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), being enrolled in a debt management program is NOT a factor in determining your credit score.

But, what if you have a considerable amount of unsecured debt and are just not able to keep up with the minimum payments and cannot afford the required payment of a Debt Management Program?

Many people will seek the help of a bankruptcy attorney, but that is not always the best option.  Yes, bankruptcy is a viable option, but in my opinion, should only be used when you have exhausted every other option!

So, how does a Debt Settlement Program work?

Instead of making any payments to your creditors, you will set aside an amount of money (your budget will allow) into a Settlement Account with an FDIC insured bank.

Of course, since you are not making monthly payments to your original creditors, they will eventually be turned over to a debt collection company.

Negotiations will begin and a settlement agreement will be arranged.  This agreement MUST be in writing and no payments should or will be made without it!

Most debt collectors will be open to a settlement.

So, what should you look for in a Debt Settlement Company?

• How long has the company been in business?
• Are they registered?
• A+ rateing and accredited with the Better Business Bureau?
• Does this company have a lot of complaints?  If so, BEWARE!
• Does the agent really listen, ask a lot of questions to determine what type of help you really need?  Or, does it seem like you are trying to be pressured into signing up right away?
• Oh, and by-the-way, the counsultations should all be FREE!
• Are there referrals or testimonials from formet clients?
• What about seeing some actural settlements? 

Finally....

Dealing with the stress of a financial hardship requires information and help.

A qualified Debt Settlement Company may be just what you need, but you need to do a little homework first!

FREE
Debt Elimination Summary

Photo Credit

When a debt is settled (IRS says, "forgiven") for more than $600, you may receive a form 1099C that seems to say that you are going to have to pay more tax!  Here's what you need to do to have the "forgiveness" excluded as additional income:

(Let me start out by stating that I am not an accountant or attorney.  I have been helping people deal with creditors, debt collectors, and attorneys for the creditors for many years and have tried to provide assistance to them or their tax preparers in how to deal with a 1099-C form.  So, please consult yours!)

Now, in this article/blog, I'm talking about dealing with a 1099-C that you may (or may not) receive after an unsecured debt such as credit cards, personal bank loans, medical bills, etc. has been settled for less than the balance.

By the way, don't be surprised that your tax preparer or accountant is not quite sure what to do with the 1099-C!  Or, be careful if they just say that you have to include the settled/forgiven amount as additional taxable income without seeing if it can be excluded!!!!

ALSO, DO NOT IGNORE THE 1099-C, even if you receive it AFTER you have filed!

 If this happens, you may have to file an amended form.  You accountant or tax preparer will help.

Ok, so you have received the 1099 C.... NOW WHAT?

To help you, here's an actual copy of a 1099C one of my client's received for a debt we helped settled in 2015.  (The 2016 1099C's are not out yet, but will be the same.)

Click on the form below and print a copy so you can follow:

1099C Form 2015

It shows...

• The name of the creditor... Capital One
• Client's personal information (I've blacked out for privacy of course)
• Date of the settlement... 1/3/15
• Amount of the canceled debt (amount forgiven)    $1,463.68
• Debt Description... Credit Cards and Loans
• 1099-C Instructions for Debtor

The actual balance at the time of settlement was $ 3,440 and the total settlement was for $1,500.  Even though this was a reduction of $1,940, the creditor has excluded the added interest and fees in reporting the settlement to the IRS.

Look carefully at the bottom of the form and you will see,

"However, according to IRS Pub. 4681, you may not have to include all of the canceled debt in your income.  There are exceptions and exclusions, such as bankruptcy and insolvency."

Do you see the word, "INSOLVENCY"?  This is the key to the whole matter.

It means that if at the time the settlement was completed, if your liabilites (all outstanding debts including the one that was settled) were greater than all of your assets (equity in your home, car, cash, bank accounts, etc.), then, according to the IRS, you were INSOLVENT.

So how do you show/prove to the IRS that you were insolvent at the time of the settlement?

You are going to file IRS Form 982 along with your tax return. 

But first, you are going to have to do a little "homework"... relax, it's easy...

Although it is not necessary, I advise my clients to write out a BRIEF, LEGIBLE explanation of their situation at the time of the settlement.  Again, you don't have to use word processing, but make sure you write very clearly.  Something like:

John Smith  SS # 123-45-6789  234 Main St.  Big City, OR 97033

I lost my job in August of 2014 and did not find employment until a year later.  My wife was also very ill at that time. 

We used credit cards to try and make ends meet, but ultimately were unable to keep up with the payments.  Rather than file for bankruptcy, we tried to negotiate with our creditors for a reduction of the balance.

As you can see from the Assets vs. Liabilities worksheet I've attached, we were in real financial trouble and/or insolvent.

Next, complete a brief worksheet listing your Assets vs. your Liabilities:

Example:

Assets:                                                            Liabilities:

FMV of home         $ 225,000                          Mortgage   $190,000   2nd   $20,000

FMV of car             $    5,000                           Student loans         $27,000

Personal Items       $    5,000                           Medical Bills           $  4,000

                                                                     Credit Cards           $ 31,000

Total Assets:        $ 235,000                          Total Liabilities:       $  272,000

                                  Net Worth:     negative  -$37,000

Now you are going to fill out IRS Form 982 (really, really simple!!!)

For credit card and other unsecured debts, you only have to deal with Part I.

• Check the box on 1,a
• Fill in the amount of forgiveness from 1099C on line 2  ( 1463.68 )

That's it!  Nothing to it!

Now, MAKE A COPY OF EVERYTHING....

• The 1099-C
• Your brief explanation of financial hardship
• Your Assets vs. Liabilities worksheet showing Insolvency
• Completed IRS form 982

Finally...

Attach/include, all of the above with your tax return.

If you need more help, click below:

Photo Credit

If you live in Oregon and receive a notice that your wages are going to be garnished, here's what you need to do:

We get calls almost every day from someone who has just received a notice from their employer that they are going to have their check garnished.

Most of those callers seem surprised by the garnishment, and yet, they should have know it might happen!

First of all, a wage garnishment cannot "just happen".

Carrying too much debt (specifically, unsecured debt) plagues 7 out of 10 people.

Most of our clients called us because they had experienced a devastating experience in their lives which caused them to turn to the easy access of credit cards for help.

See if this sounds familiar:

You lost your job.  But, you weren't too worried, because you were pretty sure you'd find another one within a couple of months or so.

Well, it just didn't happen.  

So, you burned through what ever little bit of emergency savings you had and now, you had to start using your credit card for things like:

• Gasoline
• Groceries
• And/or for that major appliance repair!

Soon, your were at the limit on your card and had to start using a second card.

You knew you shouldn't, but what else could you do?

As the months went by, and you still could not find a job that at least would pay you as much as your old job, the bills started adding up and up and up!

It wasn't long before you just couldn't keep up with the minimum payments on your credit cards and missed a payment here and there.

Soon, the creditors started sending "nasty" letters threatening this or that.

And if the letters weren't bad enough, the CALLS STARTED! Lots of calls!

Sure, you tried to explain your situation to the agent calling, but they didn't seem to care.  So, you stopped answering the calls. 

BY-THE-WAY...

As long as your account is with the original creditor, you cannot stop the calls.  You agreed to this somewhere in the fine print when you applied for the credit card.

But, after a month or so, the calls stopped and the letters seem to slow down as well.

You were hoping that maybe they would forget about you so you would have more time to find a good job and get caught up.

The good news...

You finally were hired and the salary was even just a little more than before!

The bad news...

Your account was charged off by your original creditor and assigned or sold to a DEBT COLLECTION COMPANY.

Now you began to get letters and calls from the debt collector, and you soon realized that they were a less sympathetic than the original agent was!Much less!

So, you stopped answering the phone.  

Even though they left a message, you didn't return it because you knew that it wouldn't do any good.

BY-THE-WAY... 

Now you can put a stop to the collection calls!  Here's how:

Well, the calls did stop, but the letters kept coming.

Some of the letters had a SETTLEMENT OFFER, and although it was an offer to reduce the amount you owed, you were still digging your way out of the financial hole you were in and just couldn't afford to pay 50%-75% of the balance in a lump sum within 30 days!  

COME ON.....REALLY?

A few more months went by and then one evening, the door bell rings and there's a guy with a registered letter for you.

You sign for it...open it up...and guess what????

YOUR HAVE JUST RECEIVED A SUMMONS!

You start to read the first page and it sounds like you are going to have to go to court to give an "answer" about your debt!

The truth is, that you don't have to go to court (at least not yet).  

The ANSWER is a legally prepared explanation with the proper PROOF that you do not owe this debt that the summons says you owe!

But, since you know you owe the debt, you don't do anything.

Again, THE GOOD NEWS....

You don't hear anything for a couple of more months.

But, THE BAD NEWS...

Since you didn't do anything about the summons, the PLAINTIFF (that's the debt collector and/or original creditor) was awarded a JUDGMENT against you for the full balance at the time of default...plus interest...plus fees... and court costs!

This is also called a DEFAULT JUDGMENT as it was awarded without defense, by default by you, the DEFENDANT.

Up to this point, the creditor/debt collector COULD NOT apply for a garnishment.  

Many people mistakenly think that if they just get behind on their bills that a creditor or debt collector can just "take their money or property".

No, they have to go through the whole legal process first.

But now, AND ONLY NOW, with the DEFAULT JUDGMENT, the Plaintiff can apply for a Writ of Garnishment.

And, now you get a notice from your employer that they received a WRIT OF GARNISHMENT on you.

This means that they have no option but to withhold 25% (the usual amount in most states) from each of your paychecks until the full amount is repaid. 

And oh, by-the-way, each state allows additional interest to be added!  

• Here in Oregon, it is 9% annually.  
• In Washington, it's 12%!

Now let's stop for a minute and do some math.

• Let's say you earned $5,000/month from you new job, and you receive approximately $2,500 every two weeks. 
• After City, State and Federal taxes are deducted, your net/take-home pay is $1,750 every two weeks.
• Take $1,750 less 25% for the wage garnishment, and now your take-home pay is only $1,225!  
• It was tough paying all the bills on $1,750 every two weeks, but now, you are going to have $525 less or a total of $1,050 less each month!
• $525 is mailed to the Plaintiff, and will be until the full balance from the judgment is satisfied!

How in the world are going to make it now!

You only have a couple of options:

• DEBT SETTLEMENT
• BANKRUPTCY

I'm not going to get into all of the details of the two options above in this blog, but if you'd like more information, click below:

OPTIONS FOR STOPPING A WAGE GARNISHMENT

Let me wrap this up...

The time to put a stop to a garnishment, in Oregon or any state, is BEFORE the creditor/debt collector FILES A CLAIM to start the SUMMONS/JUDGMENT process.

Most of the time, a debt collector would much rather accept a SETTLEMENT instead of going through all the time and expense of seeking a judgment.

Even if you have a JUDGMENT AGAINST YOU, there is still an opportunity to STOP THE LEGAL PROCESS.

You should be able to get a STIPULATED AGREEMENT in place that would stop the creditor/debt collector from moving forward with legal action.

If all of this sounds good, but you need some help or advice, let us know.

Photo Credit

Wage garnishment or a bank levy is a terrible situation to be in.  If you've been garnished, here are some things you can do to stop the garnishment:

We get calls each week from someone (we are in the Portland, Oregon area) that has been garnished or has been notified by their payroll office that they are going to be garnished.

As if things were not bad enough all ready, WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?

Just to lay some groundwork...

A WAGE GARNISHMENT can only occur AFTER A JUDGMENT has been awarded to the plaintiff.

A lot of people are mistaken in thinking that just because one of your credit accounts has been charged off and assigned or sold to a collection agency, that they can come after your property.

THAT IS JUST NOT TRUE!

FIRST....

When you get behind on paying your credit accounts on time, there is a sequence of events or a time line that must take place.

You will get calls and/or letters from the original creditor trying to find out what's going on.  By-the-way, as long as your account is still with the original creditor, you can't do anything to stop them from calling.

But, once that account is charged off and transferred or sold to a debt collector, you can.  I show you how later.

NEXT...

Once the account is placed with a debt collector, you will start getting calls and/or letters from them.

If you have some funds and/or a little money left over to make a reasonable monthly payment, you may want to discuss this with the debt collector rather than just ignoring the calls.

You may be able to work out a SETTLEMENT, which is a reduction of the balance.

This settlement may have to be in a LUMP SUM or possibly in SEVERAL PAYMENTS.

To get an idea of what a SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT  looks like, click on the button:

But, if you do not have any additional funds and are sick and tired of the relentless calls, you can put a stop to it now:

If you cannot afford anything to put towards the debt you owe, and you are not taking their calls or responding to their letters, the debt collector may decide to FILE A CLAIM.

An attorney is retained to file the claim in your county's courthouse.

Once the claim is filed, you will receive a SUMMONS.  Although this can be a frightening experience, DON'T PANIC!

The summons will state that you the claim against you (you are the defendant) by the creditor or debt collector (this is the PLAINTIFF).

It will also state that if you want to contest the claim, ( called give an ANSWER), you must do so within a short time period (usually 20-30 days after receiving the summons).

If you can prove that you do not owe the debt, then you should give an answer to the court within the time specified. 

This costs a hundred dollars or more and must be in the correct legal documentation, so you may need an attorney also. 

RECAP.....

• You could not keep up with the payments due on some or all of your accounts. This may be due to a number of circumstances, but here you are.
• You can not work out a reasonable repayment plan or settlement with the original creditor, so you account is assigned or sold to a debt collector.
• You cannot afford a settlement with the debt collector and the debt collector files a claim and you receive a summons.

NOW WHAT??????

Most of the time the plaintiff will be awarded a DEFAULT JUDGMENT by the court.

Once the JUDGMENT has been entered, the plaintiff has the option of seeking a WRIT OF GARNISHMENT to get back what is now owed.

Additional interest, fees and court costs have now been awarded to the plaintiff as well!

If you are employed and receive a check (W-2 wages), then the writ of garnishment is presented to your employer and/or payroll department.

You may be notified, but you may just be shocked to see that your payroll check has been reduced by 25%!

(I'll give you some advice on what you may be able to do about this in a minute.)

If you receive income from commission or what is reported for tax purposes as 1099 INCOME, then the plaintiff may seek to get a bank levy on ONE OR ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS!

This can really be DEVASTATING!

We have had people call us after their bank account(s) were depleted and they could not by groceries, pay rent, etc.!

The laws of your state (I am in Oregon and most of my clients reside here) will allow numerous EXEMPTIONS to wage garnishment and/or a bank levy.

Here are some of the "basic" exemptions (I give you a link to a more detailed list below):

• Exempt wages....If you earn less than $1,000 a month, most likely this is exempt.
• All Social Security Income
• Retirement Income (very important information below)
• VA benefits
• Any Public Assistance (welfare)
• Unemployment benefits
• Disability benefits
• Worker's compensation benefits
• Spousal or child support or any other support you receive for you or your dependents.
• Many "property" exemptions.

If you live in Oregon, you can get detailed information here:

Basic Exemptions from Wage Garnishments or Bank Levies

If you are retired and receive income from your 401(K), IRA, Pension, etc. as well as Social Security, those incomes are exempt from garnishment or levy, BUT BE AWARE!!!!!

Most people who are retired have their Social Security checks and any other retirement Income checks automatically deposited in their bank.

In May of 2011, a law was passed that protected Social Security and Retirement Funds from creditors, via garnishment/levy.

HOWEVER.... (THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!)

As long as your Social Security and/or "Retirement" income is deposited in a bank account that has NO OTHER FUNDS CO-MINGLED, then your bank will not "FREEZE" your account if they receive a writ of levy.

For example:

Let's say you are retired, receiving a modest Social Security check and a small Retirement check. Together, they are automatically deposited in you bank account.

The problem is that you just don't have enough money each month, so you take a part-time job earning $500 or so extra each month.

You deposited that extra $500 together with the other Retirement funds and not that account has CO-MINGLED FUNDS and if a writ of levy were presented to the bank, the banker would have no recourse but to freeze the account (you cannot withdraw ANY FUNDS) and would have to send the amount of the levy to the creditor!

Or.....

Let's say you took some of your retirement funds that are automatically deposited in you checking account and transferred them to a savings account.  Those funds in the savings account are now SUBJECT TO LEVY!

LESSON HERE....

If you are retired, and receive a summons and/or judgment, you need to sit down with your banker and make sure that you funds are protected from any future/possible levy.

FINALLY....

If you have been garnished, it may not be too late to put a stop to the garnishment.

Contact the attorney for the creditor/plaintiff to see if they would be willing to accept a reasonable repayment plan rather than continuing with the garnishment.

For most people, losing another 25% of their income when things were financially tough anyway, would cause them to seek BANKRUPTCY protection.

So, the creditor/plaintiff might be open to another option rather than wage garnishment.

We have been able to help many people, just like you to stop a garnishment, but time is critical.

If you would like help or advice, just let us know:

Photo credit

If you are experiencing the stress that comes from having too much debt, take heart!  You have several options:

There are basically two types of debt:

Secured debt (home mortgage, equity line of credit, automobile, etc.), anything that represents collateral to the lender in the event you default on your loan.

Unsecured debt, such as:

• Credit Cards (Visa, Master Charge, etc.)
• Store Credit Cards (Home Depot, Kohl's, etc.)
• Medical bills (not covered by insurance)
• Private loans (bank, payday, personal)
• Private Student Loans not back by the Federal Government
• Old Apartment/Rental debt
• Deficiency balance still due after a repossession
• And, of course, there are many others

In this article, I'm basically addressing UNSECURED DEBT, although, is certain circumstances,  some of the options can apply to Secured Debt as well.

If you are experiencing a severe financial situation, most likely it was caused by something beyond your control, such as:

• Loss of employment
• Death of spouse, family member, or partner
• Illness or disability
• Divorce
• Insufficient income after retirement!

See if this sounds familiar...

The company you have worked for decides (or has no choice) but to downsize and layoff (I guess this is a "politically correct" word for GETTING FIRED).

You are one of the unlucky ones and find yourself (for the first time in years), facing the prospect of looking for a new job.

Sure, you will receive UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS for a time, but at some point, they will stop.

You had used some credit cards in the past, but the balances were relatively low and you were not only making the minimum payments, but also paying a little more to pay them off sooner than later.

As the job search continues, your unemployment benefits stop and you start dipping into whatever small savings you had. But soon, your starting to understand that you are in trouble!

You have a couple of job offers, but they are not going to pay you as much as you were getting before.

So, you really have no choice and decide to accept a lower paying job just to have some kind of income!  All the while, you are going to keep looking for a better paying job.

But, not only do you not find a better paying job, you have to start using some other credit cards to make up the difference just to get by!

Soon, your credit cards are starting to get "MAXED OUT", and you find yourself unable to keep up with the MINIMUM REQUIRED PAYMENTS! 

NOW WHAT????

When you start missing payments, the creditors will most likely send you a letter or perhaps call to see what is going on. 

Sometimes they seem almost understanding and willing to work with you, but often, they are very mean and demeaning to you!

After a couple of months of missing your minimum payments, you will start getting calls....LOTS OF CALLS, from your creditor.

Unfortunately, as long as the account is with the original creditor, you cannot do anything about the calls.

My advice is to answer once and try to explain that you are going through a rough time and fully intend to repay this debt.  After that, I would just ignore the calls as most of the agents calling are not going to be sympathetic to you anyway.

After 3-4 months of non-payment on your account, most likely the creditor will assign or sell your account to a DEBT COLLECTOR. 

At this point, here are you basic options:

At first, the debt collector may not offer anything else but FULL REPAYMENT (plus all the interest and fees added) on your account.

Of course, you can't do that (if you could have, you wouldn't have been in this situation)!!!!

The Debt Collector may start calling daily and even several times a day, but know you can put a stop to the calls!

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act allows a consumer to put a stop to these annoying calls by simply writing a letter telling them to "cease and desist". 

Just click on the button below for a free, sample letter you can use:

But, just because the calls have stopped doesn't mean the debt is going to "go away"!

At some point, you may get letter offering a SETTLEMENT of your account for less than the balance.

Most of the time, these letters offer a savings of 25% -35% off the balance if you can pay that amount in a LUMP SUM within a short period of time!

If you can't take advantage of the "offer", then you may get a letter stating that your account is set to be turned over to their "LEGAL DEPARTMENT".  That sounds scary!

The last thing a Debt Collector wants to do is to have to resort to LEGAL OPTIONS  in order to get you to pay on this debt.

Although the letter stated that they could only offer a moderate reduction if you could make a lump sum payment, in fact, they most likely will be willing to accept a better reduction and even let you pay it out over several months!  Here are a few examples:

If the debt collector is unwilling to budge and/or accept a reasonable settlement with terms you can afford, then they may decide to go ahead and file a claim in order to get a judgment.

With a judgment, then they can apply for a WRIT OF GARNISHMENT, which would be sent to your employer.  Your employer would have no choice (although there are exceptions), but to obey the writ of garnishment and send them 25% of your net, take-home income!

Since that would be financially devastating, and you may would not be able to pay the mortgage or rent, utilities, buy groceries, etc.,  you may be forced to seek BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION!

In my opinion, bankruptcy should be your very last...there's nothing else you can do...option.

However, bankruptcy is not as bad or harmful as you may think!

Although your options of dealing with too much debt are limited, you owe it to yourself to get some advice and see what you can or cannot do, given your circumstances.

Photo Credit

If you've been slapped with a WAGE GARNISHMENT, you need to know WHY it happened and HOW to put a STOP to it!

A wage garnishment or bank levy/garnishment doesn't just "happen"!  

Before a "writ of garnishment" can be granted to a creditor or debt collector, several things have happened:

When you sign up for a credit card, bank card, or any unsecured account (including medical bills), you have entered into a legal contract with the basic agreement that you will repay the loan at the terms and time frame outlined in the agreement.

If you don't, the original creditor has the right to:

• Call you
• Write you, or...
• Hire a Debt Collector, or...
• Retain an attorney to file a claim...bring a lawsuit!
• Go to court to win a judgment against you
• Apply for a Writ of Garnishment 

Let's walk through the process leading up to a WAGE GARNISHMENT, and I'll show you how to:

1. Prevent a judgment
2. Prevent a garnishment
3. Stop a garnishment 

I've been helping people deal with credit and debt problems for many years and it still always is a mystery to me when someone calls for help and says,"I had no idea this was going on"!

Well, I suppose that is possible, but most likely, here is what happened:

1.  Something happened in your life that caused you to be unable to keep up with the required payments.  It could have been one or more of these:

• Loss of employment
• Divorce or other family problem
• Death of a spouse or loved one
• Long illness or disability
• Barely enough income after retirement

When you are late or unable to pay the minimum payment due, you probably already know, but...

2.  Creditors start calling and writing, trying to find out what is going on.

Unfortunately, the original creditor has the right (remember that agreement with all the FINE PRINT?) to call or contact you by mail, so at this point, you cannot legally stop them.

3.  If the original creditor cannot contact you or you do not talk with them or return their request for a call, then they may place the account with a DEBT COLLECTOR.

The debt collector will start calling, and calling, and calling....very annoying!

But now you have the right to PUT A STOP TO THESE CALLS FROM DEBT COLLECTORS!

When your account has been placed with a debt collector, you may have the opportunity to SETTLE THE ACCOUNT BALANCE FOR LESS!

This is called DEBT SETTLEMENT and depending on your circumstances, this can be a very effective method for not only reducing the balance due, but also stop the potential legal process that may begin.

Although dealing with a debt collector can be a very intimidating and frustrating experience, if you feel up to it, you may want to call and see what they are willing to do for you,

If you are uncomfortable doing this, you can get help:

4.  If the debt collector cannot get you to set up payments to repay or are not willing to accept a REASONABLE SETTLEMENT, then they may decide to FILE A CLAIM.

Once the Claim is filed, a SUMMONS will be issued.  It usually is delivered in person, but may be sent by registered mail.

As I said earlier, although people will say that they never received a summons, in most cases...

• They had received it, but just ignored it!
• Someone in the household signed for it.
• Someone in the household signed for it if delivered by registered mail.

But even if you really never received or saw the summons, at this point, it may too expensive to fight!  Yes, you could, but most likely you won't.

SO, NOW WHAT????

5.  The summons had stated that you had 20 -30 days to give an "ANSWER".

A legal ANSWER is you legal response to the claim/summons that you do not owe the debt and CAN PROVE IT!

Most people know that they owe the debt and so spending the money to give the ANSWER ( yes, it costs money to FILE AN ANSWER!!!), is a waste of time and money.

6.  Even if you do not file an ANSWER, you can still stop the process by negotiating a STIPULATED AGREEMENT.

Depending on your financial circumstances, the plaintiff (creditor) may agree to a repayment plan rather move forward for a garnishment.

The reasoning is that if you are slapped with a garnishment it may force you to seek bankruptcy protection.  If that happens, they may get little to nothing!

7.  But, if the previous procedures fail to prevent the garnishment or you receive noticed from you employer that you will be garnished, you still have options:

• Call the attorney for the plaintiff and attempt to negotiate a repayment plan in lieu of the garnishment.
• Seek bankruptcy protection.

Even if you receive the notice of garnishment from your employer, you still may be able to contact the attorney for the plaintiff/creditor and work out a repayment plan.

You will need to be able to show hardship and offer a reasonable payment plan.

But if the plaintiff/creditor refuses, then you may be forced to seek BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION.

Bankruptcy is a drastic option, but is not as bad as you think it is.  

Check with a bankruptcy attorney to get understand your options.

Now you know "WHY" the "HOW TO STOP" a garnishment.

But, taking action is still too much for most people.......

Photo credit