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LAKE COUNTY WAGE GARNISHMENT ATTORNEY
WHAT IS WAGE GARNISHMENT?
Creditors are hardly lenient when it comes to consumers who have fallen behind on their payments. At first, they may send collection letters or call you frequently to remind you that you are behind. When consumers take too long to pay a creditor or collection agency, however, the creditor might take more drastic action.
Wage garnishments are some of the most invasive and extreme forms of debt collection. To garnish your wages, a creditor must obtain a judgment from the court and present it to your employer, who will withhold a portion of your earnings and pay it to your creditor instead of you. Indiana follows federal wage garnishment laws, which means that your creditor could garnish your income by taking one of the following:
25% of your disposable earnings after deductions
The amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal hourly minimum wage.
HOW TO STOP WAGE GARNISHMENT IN INDIANA
Wage garnishment is legal in some cases, but it can also be a violation of your consumer rights if it causes you undue hardship. An attorney from Fugate Law Firm can help you work with your creditor to stop wage garnishment by proving that it makes it difficult for you to live. Our firm can also help you get back on top of your debt so that you creditors no longer bother you.
Bankruptcy is one of the best ways to stop wage garnishment because an automatic stay is placed on all collection attempts the moment you retain a Lake County bankruptcy attorney. By filing for bankruptcy, your debts will also be discharged so that you no longer owe anything and can focus on credit repair instead.
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MANAGE YOUR STUDENT DEBT
As the economy continues to struggle, recent college graduates are finding it harder and harder to get decent jobs after college. As a result, it gets more and more difficult for college grads to stay on top of their student loans. Unlike many other debts, most student loans are not dischargeable through bankruptcy. While you may qualify and apply for deferment or forbearance, you will eventually be required to repay your student loans, except on very rare occasion. At Fugate Law Firm, we can examine your situation to help decide on a course of action that can reduce and eliminate your student loans.
Debt settlement is one way to eliminate any student loans that you cannot afford to repay. An attorney form our firm can help you work with your lender to agree upon a reduction of your loans, allowing you to make a one-time, lump-sum payment, after which your lender forgives the rest. Another way to get rid of your student loans is to get the rest of your unsecured debts discharged through bankruptcy. If you qualify to file under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, your debts could be completely forgiven, allowing you to focus on repaying your student loans and repairing your credit.
CREDIT REPAIR ATTORNEY IN LAKE COUNTY
BANKRUPTCY CAN HELP IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT
There is a popular myth that bankruptcy ruins your credit. The opposite is actually the truth. By the time a consumer needs to file bankruptcy, his or her credit score is already at rock bottom. Filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 actually has the opposite effect on your credit in the long run. After a small initial dip in your credit score, your unsecured debt will be eliminated so that you can afford your payments again. This debt elimination will allow you to begin rebuilding your credit.
DEBUNKING THE MYTH THAT BANKRUPTCY RUINS CREDIT
Many clients ask us whether or not they will qualify for credit after filing bankruptcy. The answer is that you most likely will qualify. Most of our clients begin receiving more credit offers after they file bankruptcy than they were receiving before they filed. Banks and lenders know that you need to rebuild your credit and will be much more willing to offer you a secured credit card not very long after you have filed bankruptcy. A Lake County bankruptcy attorney can help you understand what options are available to you for credit repair and can help you eliminate your overwhelming debt so that you can get started.
CONSULT A LAKE COUNTY BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY
Our firm has helped countless clients find relief from overwhelming debt and rebuild their credit scores from the ground up. We can advise you about how to establish a budget and educate you about using a secured card for basic purchases such as groceries and gas so that you can make your payments on time to begin bringing your credit score back up. By the time bankruptcy no longer appears on your credit report, your credit score could be the best it's ever been!
CAN I KEEP MY CAR? CAN I KEEP MY HOUSE? WILL I LOSE MY TAX REFUND?
You can keep your car, house and may also keep your tax refund with proper planning. Chapter 7 bankruptcy gets rid of unsecured debt permanently. There are no payments to be made, and the process usually takes about three to four months to complete. Imagine if we told you that you could stop paying your credit cards and medical bills today? Would you believe us or would you think that it is too good to be true?
If you follow the advice of a Lake County bankruptcy lawyer from our firm, the money you would normally use for credit cards and medical bills can be used to help you pay your necessities such as rent, house payment, utilities, car payments, etc. This should provide some immediate relief for your financial stress. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can take care of the rest.
HOW CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY WORKS
Consumers can file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code after they pass the means test. The means test deducts a consumer's living expenses from his or her net income to calculate the consumer's disposable income. Consumers whose disposable income is less than the state average qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, while others may qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Under Chapter 7, a consumer must hand over nonexempt property and assets to a trustee to be liquidated and used to repay as much of the consumer's debt as possible. The rest of the consumer's unsecured debt is then discharged. The entire process usually takes just a few months.
WHY FILE FOR CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY?
Chapter 7 is an incredible tool for fighting high-interest credit cards and insurmountable medical debt. This form of bankruptcy results in your unsecured debt going away immediately. One question you may have is how bankruptcy may affect your credit. After all, what good would it be to file for bankruptcy if you were never able to get credit again? The truth is that bankruptcy often helps consumers reestablish credit.
This may be the exact opposite of what you have heard, but think about it: If you are late on payments now, your credit is already being negatively affected. Even if you catch up those payments, the damage has already been done. Your credit will continue to decline if the payments continue to be late. There are two ways to stop the downward spiral. The first way is to pay off or catch up on the payments. The second way is to eliminate the debt by filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can provide a fresh start so that you can rebuild your credit. Interest rates may be on the high side at first, but you will see the interest rates go down after you start reestablishing your credit.
DO I QUALIFY?
CAN I FILE A CHAPTER 7?
The question should not be which Chapter do you qualify for, the quesion you should ask is which bankruptcy Chapter will help you the most. If the answer is a Chapter 7, you would need to make under a certain dollar amount. That amount varies based on how many people you have in your household. The more people in the household, the more money you can make. We call that the CMI (current monthly income) test. The law compares your income to the median income for a family of your size. If you are over the median, you fail the first part of the test.
Even though you fail the first part, Fugate Law Firm may still be able to get you intend a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. With our experience, we know what expenses we can take that would lower your disposable income and allow you to file a Chapter 7. The law is complicated in this area but we are willing to work with you to explore all options.
Can I keep my house and car and file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy? The answer is most often times yes. The only time that a car or house becomes an issue is if there is a substantial amount of equity in those items. There are exemptions that cover a certain amount of equity. Prior to us filing a bankruptcy case for you, we will analyze the equity and your exemption and determine whether the equity would be an issue. Those convcerns would be addressed way before the filing of a bankruptcy.
WHEN WOULD IT BE BEST TO FILE A CHAPTER 13?
The most common reason to file a Chapter 13 is to save a house. If you are behind in payments, a Chapter 13 can help you get caught up and can do so without paying interest on the missed payments. Almost everyone qualifies for a Chapter 13. There are no income qualifications. The CMI test is still used but it is used to determine what, if any, amounts you would pay to unsecured creditors. Conrary to poular belief, you can file a Chapter 13 and still get rid of your credit cards and other unsecured debt.
CALL MY OFFICE TODAY TO DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONS AND DETERMINE WHICH CHAPTER IS RIGHT FOR YOU.
SPEAK WITH A LOACL BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY HELPING PEOPLE FROM MERRILLVILLE HAMMOND, MICHIGAN CITY, HOBART, PORTAGE, VALPARAISO, HAMMOND, CROWN POINT, LAPORTE AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES.
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