Garnished Wages & Bankruptcy

If a creditor is taking money directly from your paycheck, bankruptcy can put an end to the garnishment. The automatic stay is a temporary injunction that stops creditors from pursuing collection actions—including wage garnishment, lawsuits, repossessions and foreclosures—while your case is pending. This stay gives you room to reorganize your finances without losing a portion of each paycheck.

Once the stay takes effect, creditors must immediately notify employers to stop withholding wages. If a garnishment occurred shortly before your filing, we may be able to recover the funds and return them to you. In the meantime, your disposable income will be directed toward your bankruptcy plan, not to individual creditors. After your case concludes, the debt underlying the garnishment may be discharged or repaid under terms you can afford.

Don’t let creditors raid your paycheck. We can quickly file a case to stop the garnishment, protect your income and help you chart a path toward financial stability.