Question-Ch. 13 payment to be taken out of paycheck

[brtb]

My husband and I filed Ch. 13 a month ago. We have our court date on Tues next week. Our first payment to the trustee has cleared. However, all of our following payments are going to be taken out of my paycheck (husband is unemployed). There is no way around this and I'm so mortified by this because I didn't want anyone at my job knowing we had filed bankruptcy. I work at a small company and have been there for 11 year (in the Finance dept no less). My company will be "served" papers within the next week or so I guess.

Any advice on how to get through this? I don't want to be office gossip.

Thanks!

[LadyInTheRed]

I'd talk to the head of your HR and the head of your department. Explain that your husband's unemployment (saw that in your other thread), has forced you to file BK to stop collections and allow you to pay your debt over the next five years. Tell them that the court requires wage garnishment to make your monthly payments and they will be receiving notice shortly. Ask them to do whatever they can to keep the bankruptcy confidential.

Somebody is bound to find out and there may be nothing anyone can do to stop gossip. Let them gossip and keep your head up high. You made a business decision and it is nothing to be ashamed of. The people who gossip about your financial difficulties are not worth worrying about!

[brtb]

Thanks for the advice. The head of HR is nothing but a gossip queen, actually our whole HR department. I'm giving the trustee the address to our Payroll Department, so I just hope it stays there. I would just die if my line manager found out. We have a great relationship and I would be completely mortified. I wish they could just debit my bank account each month.

[Pandora]

If the head of HR starts flappin her gums... that could be cause for trouble for her. They are not to discuss or talk about employee issues with anyone other than that employee's supervisor on a need-to-know basis. Regarding your supervisor - why not just ask for a moment of his/her time, sit down and have a personal discussion if need be?

As to being mortified....let's play "which would you rather.." for a moment:

Would you rather have creditors calling your place of employment, and possibly having an actual garnishment for judgments come out of your pay?

OR

Would you rather file BK, avoiding all the calls - and have a payroll deduction come out of your pay?


Paying via payroll deduction isnt a true garnishment... its a deduction just like if you were placing it into another account you had. Big difference.

[bam531]

We felt the same way when we first filed our 13..our payment too comes out of my husbands payroll check. We were told by our attorney that only the company's payroll dept would know. So far, so good...no one else has said a word. From my understanding it is part of the privacy act and they cannot discuss it with anyone. One thing that did shock me was the company takes out an extra dollar for having to do this deduction ( it says garnishment fee on his check stub...$ 1.00) Oh well..if they need it that bad go ahead and take it..LOL. If anyone does say anything to you about your BK..just tell them you had some unforeseen expenses and leave it at that..It's none of their business anyway. Or you can do like my brother does and act shocked and confused when he was ask about his BK..he starts running around yelling " Oh no..it's the end of the world!! How did this happen??" Of course then the person that ask about it usually very slowly backs away from him..LOL..He says that is one way to get them to not be noisy..hmmm..maybe I should try that if anyone ask me!! LOL!!
Hold you head up brtb...you are not the first to have to file BK and you won't be the last..Good Luck!!

[notalooser]

brtb, i too am scared to death of this scenario. we've met with an attorney, and are hoping to file 13. i work for a very small medical office, and anyone there who has had a garnishment served was told to "handle this", meaning, take care of it yourself so your wages aren't garnished, or you'll be fired for some "unrelated reason." two people have been served, and two people have been fired. i told my attorney that if i have to have wage garnishment, i will be fired, bottom-line, end of story. my husband is self-employed, has 3 employees, handles payroll himself, and we'd prefer to have his the payment deducted from his check. she wasn't sure if the trustee would go for that. i don't know what we'll do if the payments have to be deducted from my paycheck

[tn09]

Is this normal for BK filer to have their payment be taken out of their checks? I am kind of confused here since I have read from other readers that they pay the trustee monthly? Or is this payroll deduction based on individual cases and the district in which you live in?

[LadyInTheRed]

Is this normal for BK filer to have their payment be taken out of their checks? I am kind of confused here since I have read from other readers that they pay the trustee monthly? Or is this payroll deduction based on individual cases and the district in which you live in?

It depends on the district and may be even be up to the trustee. Some require payroll deduction, some allow the debtor to send a cashier's check or money orders and some allow the debtor to send a personal check or use their bank's bill pay. The last seem to be in the minority.

[TrainWreak]

The only reason I send the payment myself is because I am self employed. I send a postal money order.

[papie]

We decided to modify our plan to surrender our house. We previously made our payments directly to the trustee every month. Apparently our trustee requires wage garnishment when modifications are made to the plan. (Our lawyer said he prefers wage garnishment for everyone, but will not require them unless modifications are made.) It sucks.

I work in finance also, so I understand your fears. I flat out told my lawyer that they could figure something else out or they could go ahead and discharge the Chapter 13 now. A wage garnishment in the finance industry is a sure way to lose a job. I can't make 13 payments without my job. We worked it out to where they are just garnishing my husband's check. In the event that he doesn't make enough to cover the garnishment, we'll be sending in the difference. (His work is spotty as of late.)

Would it be possible for you to hold a hearing on this matter? My lawyer said that if there was a strong possibility of losing my job with a wage garnishment we could always request a hearing on the matter and plead the case to the judge.

[brtb]

So far, so good...no one else has said a word. From my understanding it is part of the privacy act and they cannot discuss it with anyone.

I was wondering about this; there has to be some kind of privacy act. I'm just preparing myself for whatever happens. My husband said that if anyone asks me anything to just tell them that "It's personal." I'm still a littled stressed over the whole thing.

[IamOld]

I was wondering about this; there has to be some kind of privacy act. I'm just preparing myself for whatever happens. My husband said that if anyone asks me anything to just tell them that "It's personal." I'm still a littled stressed over the whole thing.

IF you are where I think you are, yes, they "require" wage withholding, although if your atty is aggressive enough, he could approach the Trustee's office....and at least explain the situation. I don't understand...the "magic" of wage withholding at all...after all, then everyone is relying on a third party!

[IamOld]

If you are BOTH on the 13 that shouldn't be an issue...if his pay is enough to cover it, see if your atty is willing to push that case...

[brtb]

My husband is currently unemployed so it has to come out of my paycheck.

My attorney said that, "Bankruptcy is considered a public matter so there are no privacy restrictions imposed on your payroll office. For that reason I would give them a heads up and let them know you would prefer that your supervisor not know about the matter." So, basically I guess I need to get myself up to Payroll and tell them what's to come. I'm not lookign forward to this at all, but I guess I have to get over it.

[IamOld]

:-) I understand - if you work for large employer, you won't be alone...if not, I hope they're professional enough - as they SHOULD be - to process it and move on.

My husband is currently unemployed so it has to come out of my paycheck.

My attorney said that, "Bankruptcy is considered a public matter so there are no privacy restrictions imposed on your payroll office. For that reason I would give them a heads up and let them know you would prefer that your supervisor not know about the matter." So, basically I guess I need to get myself up to Payroll and tell them what's to come. I'm not lookign forward to this at all, but I guess I have to get over it.