Sometimes “life happens.” You miss a few car payments and your car gets repossessed.

The problem is that when you surrender the property, a few things happen. The lender takes the car back, charges you more fees and sells the car at a discounted price through an auction. If the car does not sell for enough money to pay the amount you owe, then the lender can sue you for the balance owed.

In Washington, wage-garnishment limits depend on the type of debt and statutory exemptions. The calculation uses disposable earnings, meaning earnings after deductions required by law, rather than a blanket percentage of gross wages. Have your pay records and garnishment papers reviewed to determine what may be withheld. Bank-account funds may also be protected by exemptions; a judgment does not mean that all funds are available to the creditor.

If you are getting garnished for a car repossession, the good news for you is that as your bankruptcy lawyer, we can help.

You can file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy OR a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and stop the garnishment. A lot of time it makes sense to file the bankruptcy case before you actually get sued. Either way, as your debt attorney, we can help solve your financial situation.

Over the past 34 years, the Law Offices of Christopher A. Benson has helped over 3,000 of Washington clients take control of their financial situation. We can stop your garnishment and change your monthly payments for all your combined unsecured debt, and if you have had more than $600 garnished within the last 90 days, we can get all of the money back in most cases. But you have to act quickly–call (253) 815-6940 for your free consultation, or email us today.