QUESTION
If I'm in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, can a creditor who is not involved still garnish my wages?
Asked on Aug 08th, 2012 on Bankruptcy - New Jersey
21 ANSWERS
Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI
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Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
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Generally not, especially if the debt was listed. If it the obligation is post filing, probably.
Answered on Jun 28th, 2013 at 9:48 PM
Trusts & Estates Attorney serving Camarillo, CA
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Law Offices of Larry Webb
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No.
Answered on May 29th, 2013 at 12:30 AM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Washington, DC
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Law Offices of Diann C. Moseley
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No.
Answered on May 29th, 2013 at 12:28 AM
Criminal Law Attorney serving Fremont, CA
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Steven J. Alpers, A Professional Corporation
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Yes you need to amend your plan and add them.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 8:49 PM
Not while the bankruptcy is still open.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 8:46 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Livonia, MI
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Charles J. Schneider, P.C.
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There is no such thing as an uninvolved creditor.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 7:17 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Clinton, MS
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Timothy Kevin Byrne Attorney at Law
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Generally no. That does not mean they will not try to. You need to bring the Chapter 13 to their attention through the creditor's attorney.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 5:50 PM
Criminal Defense Attorney serving Deltona, FL
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R. Jason de Groot, P.A.
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You must list all of your creditors when you file bankruptcy. "A creditor who is not involved" garnishing your wages after you file bankruptcy, is an indication that you have committed fraud by not listing all of your creditors. The only way that a creditor who is not involved can continue to garnish your wages is probably if you did not list the creditor. Thus, you need to amend your schedules to include this creditor and stop the garnishment.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 5:22 PM
Meredith P. Ezzell
Wage garnishment is not allowed in NC except for in limited circumstances (such as domestic support obligations, taxes). If you are in an active Chapter 13 you should discuss this creditor with your attorney because unless it is a debt that was incurred post petition, it should be included in the case.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 5:17 PM
Bankruptcy Attorney serving Seattle, WA
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The Law Office of Marc S. Stern
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Why is the creditor not involved? The answer is probably no, however, there are exceptions. If this is a post petition debt, it might be possible.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 5:09 PM
No. The Automatic Stay set forth in 11 U.S.C. Section 362 stops wage garnishments. In every form of bankruptcy, you need to list all of your creditors.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 5:01 PM
All creditors are involved. If you had a creditor and failed to list them in the schedules, you need to go back and fix your error. If you have incurred new debt, something you are not supposed to do without court permission, you have erred here, too. Remember that no creditor, bankruptcy or no bankruptcy, can garnish wages without having first gone to court and obtained a judgment. If you have let a case go this far while in the midst of a chapter 13 payment plan, your chapter 13 may be beyond redemption. Whatever you have done, or failed to do correctly, you must immediately seek to fix the problem by full and complete disclosure and the filing of a proposed amended plan and a motion to amend your already confirmed plan. If you don't understand what this means, you are in over your head and need a lawyer to help you.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 4:20 PM
Bankruptcy Law Attorney serving Campbell, CA
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Ellahie Law Firm
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The stay extends to all creditors (limited exception for domestic support) but if your plan has been confied and if you opted to have the property vest back to you then wages are no longer protected.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Milwaukee, WI
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Law Offices of Deborah A. Stencel
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All pre-petition creditors should have been listed and would therefore be "involved" and prohibited from garnishment. If this for a debt AFTER the bankruptcy was filed, it is possible for the creditor to try to collect. However, you can amend your plan to add this creditor if its collection efforts threaten the success of your plan.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 4:10 PM
Consumer Bankruptcy Attorney serving Los Angeles, CA
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Orantes Law Firm
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Not under the law. However, if you haven't provided the creditor with notice of your bankruptcy case, the creditor would probably go ahead and garnish without repercussion and you would have to give it notice of the bankruptcy to stop it, amend your schedules and provide for it in the plan at whatever percentage you are paying, whether 0% or whatever percentage your plan pays.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 4:09 PM
Immigration Attorney serving Arlington, TX
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Law Office of Pho Ethan Tran, PLLC
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Yes because the creditor is not subject to the automatic stay unless it is listed on the schedules and gets notice of the filing. You should amend your schedules to include the creditor and serve notice on the creditor.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 4:09 PM
General Practice Attorney serving Crystal Lake, IL
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Bruning & Associates, P.C.
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Thanks for your question. Without more details, it is hard to provide a good answer. Did you incur this debt before filing for bankruptcy? If so, it is possible that they are violating the bankruptcy code by continuing to garnish your wages if they had notice of the bankruptcy. If you did not send them notice, however, they might be able to take action against you, such as garnishing your wages, however they typically should seek permission from the bankruptcy court first. If they didn't seek permission, but didn't have notice of your bankruptcy, then you may have a larger problem for not handling this creditor correctly under the bankruptcy code (you are required to include all of your creditors; if you don't, then that creditor might not be discharged at the end of your payment plan). If you incurred this debt after filing bankruptcy, that creditor probably isn't covered by your bankruptcy petition, though you should speak with an attorney about your particular situation in order to get a better determination.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 4:07 PM
Family Attorney serving Hurst, TX
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Law Office of Eric A. Maskell
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No. In order for a creditor to do anything while you are in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy they would first have to get bankruptcy permission either by direct motion or by lifting the automatic stay. The automatic stay prevents any form of debt collection.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 4:04 PM
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney serving Ogden, UT
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Jason B. Richards Attorney at Law
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Whether or not a creditor is included in your bankruptcy, it is a violation of the automatic stay for them to garnish you while you are in bankruptcy, unless that creditor has received relief from the automatic stay.
Answered on Aug 14th, 2012 at 3:51 PM
Bankruptcy Law Attorney serving Huntington Woods, MI
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Austin Hirschhorn, P.C.
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When you are laid off you are entitled to file for unemployment. The unemployment agency will consider your severance pay as part of your income and adjust the unemployment pay for the period you are receiving the severance pay. It would probably be a violation of your employment contract if your employer were to stop making the severance payments. You should ask the official about this when you file for unemployment.
Answered on Aug 10th, 2012 at 1:53 PM
Bankruptcy Law Attorney serving Livingston, NJ
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Law Office of Stuart M. Nachbar, P.C.
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No. 11 USC 362 prevents any future garnishments, as well as any future proceedings to collect the debt.
Answered on Aug 10th, 2012 at 1:37 PM