Wage Garnishment Vs. Bank Levy

When working to improve the standing of your or your clients public records, it is important to understand the process and procedures surrounding Wage Garnishment or a potential Bank Levy.

Wage Garnishment is the process of deducting money from an employee’s monetary compensation most of the time, as a result of a court order.  A Bank Levy is when a Creditor, IRS or other Government Entity freezes a bank account to get an unpaid debt, taxes or other type of forfeitures by way of an OFAC Asset Freeze. OFAC is typically done by Governments to Individuals and Companies though we have seen many OFAC Listings on clients reports, reported erroneously.

As an Individual or Business, if you have a Judgment against you, it comes after a Creditor Account goes unpaid and turns into a Collection.  The Creditor will request from the Court a “Writ of Execution”, which is a court order directing the Sheriff of a particular County, to enforce the Judgment.  In case of a Bank Levy, upon receiving the order, The Bank will typically freeze the funds in the account, up to the amount of levy, or the Sheriff will hold onto those funds for a period of ten days before forwarding the funds or property to the Creditor. At that point, depending on the State, you have some time to file for a “Claim of Exemption” that could stop or reduce the levy.

For wage garnishments, these vary from state to state and you would need to search for the state exemption that suits your particular case in order to file for a claim and stop or reduce the garnishment.  While in the process, you can request for a settlement with the law firm that is handling the case to avoid further legal processes.  When the law firm is not agreeing to a settlement, filing for a “Claim of Exemption” with the Court may be a good option.  Either way, the key to success is TIME. With enough time to negotiate and file for a Claim of Exemption, the result is more likely to sway in your favor.

If you have questions about Credit and Debt Management, Credit Analytics and how it impacts your purchasing power or just want a review of your personal or business Credit Profile, drop us a line. We are here to help.