If a creditor has filed a lawsuit against you and obtained a judgment then they can attempt to collect on the debt by doing a number of things including, wage garnishments, freezing bank accounts, or levying property. I was recently asked by a client if it is too late to file for bankruptcy once a creditor has frozen your bank account? The answer to that question is NO, a debtor can still file for bankruptcy once their account has been frozen. Furthermore the filing of the bankruptcy will UNFREEZE the bank account and likely give the debtor his or her bank account once again.
If you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy, then the first thing you should do is go see a local bankruptcy attorney to determine your eligibility, options, and consequences of filing. If you live in south Florida then please contact Shmucher Law, PL at 305.741.5553 or 954.309.5559 to schedule a free consultation. We offer consultations in our main office in Miami as well as our satellite bankruptcy offices including Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.
If you have a judgment against you then one of the remedies your creditors can seek is to wage garnish you up to 25 (twenty five) percent every paycheck until the amount of the judgment plus interest and fees is paid back. If a wage garnishment order is granted against you then there really aren’t too many ways to have it cease. However the filing of a bankruptcy in Florida will automatically cease a wage garnishment.
When a person files for bankruptcy in Florida, whether it is Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy the automatic stay comes into play. The automatic stay is basically a freeze of all other proceedings or actions against the debtor, and in order to continue any of those proceedings or to start a new one a creditor is required to get permission from the bankruptcy court.
So in the case of a wage garnishment, the filing of the bankruptcy would automatically stop the wage garnishment and prevent the creditor from getting any monies from the debtor’s paycheck.
If you are currently going through a wage garnishment or recently have had a judgment granted against you and you would like to speak with a local bankruptcy attorney then please contact Ofer Shmucher at Shmucher Law, PL by calling 305-741-5553 or 954-309-5559. We offer free consultations in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Plantation, and Sunrise Florida.
My clients often tell me that they are scared to go before a judge. The good news is that most consumer/debtor’s who file for bankruptcy in Florida will likely never have to go before or see a judge at all.
Chapter 7 – If you file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in South Florida you will be asked questions by a Bankruptcy Trustee in a 341 meeting of the creditors. This meeting is fairly casual and usually only takes a few minutes. A debtor will almost never see a judge unless there is a dispute or a motion has been filed that requires the debtor to appear and testify.
Chapter 13 – If you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in South Florida you, again, will be asked questions by a Bankruptcy Trustee in a 341 meeting of the creditors. If the chapter 13 is done correctly then the debtor will likely not ever have to appear before a judge.
Reasons that you will have to go before a judge – If you fail to cooperate with the bankruptcy trustee, by failing to provide documentation or any other type of information then a visit with a bankruptcy judge will be very likely.
If you are thinking about filing a Chapter 7, 11, or 13 bankruptcy in South Florida and would like to schedule a free consultation with Shmucher Law, PL and bankruptcy lawyer Ofer Shmucher then please give our office a call at 954.309.5559 or 305.741.5553.
