Wages still being garnish after Chapter 7 have been filed!!!!

[Romie]

I have filed for chapter 7 with an attorney in march of this year.
My wages is being garnish by two judgements.
I was told by my attorney it will stop as soon as I file and to give it about two pay period for it to stop.
It has been 3 pay periods going onto 4th now still being garnished (i get pay every 2 weeks so its been 6 weeks now)
I have ask my attorney what's going on He assured me he will get in contact with the Marshal directly to ensure it stops.....I don't know and I am worried. I have no asset and I well qualified for the chapter 7 by the "means test"
I am so stressed out about all this!!!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and leaving me any advised you may have.

[Pjmax]

Hi Romie, welcome to the forum. I'm not an expert in this area, but wanted to let you know that other members that know more about this will be along soon with some advice.

Hang in there, I know this is tough, and keep calling your attorney. I would also ask if that money garnished since filing will be returned to you. I don't know if this is possible, but I would ask.

[LadyInTheRed]

Anything garished after you filed BK should be returned to you. It sounds like your attorney is going to take care of it. Follow up before your next pay period to make sure he does.

[Romie]

Thanks LadyInTheRed

[justbroke]

It sounds more like the attorney thought it would just go away, without having to file a Suggestion of Bankruptcy in the court which issued the Judgment and Writ of Garnishment. Anyhow, it reads as though the attorney has figured out that proactive steps may need to be taken (such as filing a Suggestion of Bankruptcy or following the local procedure for staying a Writ that is stayed by a bankruptcy).

[bcohen]

Actually, once the creditor has received actual notice of the bankruptcy--which surely would have happened within a week or two of filing--they are responsible for ending any and all collection efforts. Of course, it is a good idea if you have a lawsuit or judgment to add the law firm which is suing you/has sued you to your mailing matrix, so they too will receive notice of your case.

When I filed for Chapter 7 last year, I had a judgment from Discover Card filed by the law firm Gurstel Chargo. They had already tried (unsuccessfully) to levy my bank account with less than $70 in it. I added the creditor (Discover Bank) and the law firm to my creditor list and mailing matrix, and also sent the law firm a letter--Certified Mail--saying that I filed, here's the case number, and I will sue if you continue trying to collect this debt. Needless to say, they did not try to collect ever again. I did not bother paying the fee to file a notice of bankruptcy with the circuit court where the judgment was granted, because I wasn't sure that doing so would provide any benefit.

[justbroke]

I hear you bcohen, but many creditors don't seem to pay attention. I would say that notification is key and if the notification is sent to the wrong place or sent to the "payment" address, creditors are known to miss that notification (even though a court would find that proper notification). For judgments or other civil cases, I highly suggest that the local procedure for filing a Suggestion of Bankruptcy is followed to also put the court on notice. Just as you did, I would also follow up directly with the creditor's attorney.

[Romie]

Thanks for the info. Now my attorney is insisting contacting the Marshal who the payments are sent to why would he not want to contact my employer....my employer is advising me to tell him to send them the paperwork....i am a little confused on that.

[LadyInTheRed]

What paperwork is your employer requesting?

They probably want paperwork that needs to be generated by the marshal or the court who entered judgment. But, if they will stop the garnishment based on a notice of your bankruptcy, then you can give them that.

[tthoma49]

Your employer needs a release from the garnishment. Usually each creditor would send a release.