Could they garnish my wages?

[colleenbean]

Hello,
I am freaking out-I am going to file and I am scared they will go after my paycheck is that possible. I was going to file chapter 7.

Thanks!

[BKTango]

I understand the freaking out part. Believe me, we have all been there at some point.

To answer your question...No...when you file chapter 7 bankruptcy your wages are not garnished. Of course in a chapter 13, you make payments and sometimes the trustee takes those payments straight from your check before you see it. Maybe you have gotten confused and read that somewhere. Also depending on your state, if you don't file and receive a judgement from a creditor (they take you to court and sue you for payment and win) then if your state allows they can garnish your wages.

In reading your posts, I see that you are still using your credit cards (big no no) and still making over a $700 a month payment to an unsecured loan. You need to stop paying on that, stop using the credit cards and the money you were using to pay that loan use for necessary living expenses or paying for a lawyer. Any secured loan you may have (car, home, etc.) you will want to continue paying on those if you intend to keep them.

Have you ran the means test to see where you stand on quailifying for a chapter 7? You can do that here. http://www.legalconsumer.com/means-t...ator/index.php

The median income for Massachusetts for a one person household is $51,543 if you GROSS under that than you automatically qualify for a chapter 7. If you are over that than you will have to compare your income vs. expenses to see if you can still qualify for a ch7, if not than you would have to do a ch13. This is where the means test will help you determine where you stand.

[colleenbean]

Thanks BK -you guys are so helpful.
Is gross before or after taxes?

[BKTango]

Before taxes. Unfortunately even though that's not what you take home and get to live on through the year, that's what you have to go by.

[colleenbean]

I passed the means test- I was below the avg by about $780.00 in Massachusetts.