Hello everyone and anyone who can help. My situation is this: I am currently being sued by a credit collection agency for $2,698 that includes $1400 of interest and fee etc. My court date is this week. I am a single mom, w/ an 18 mo old baby, working PT. My pay is between $160 & 200/wk. However $140 is takeing out a week for health insurance (I KNOW IT'S CRAZY!), which means my take home is btween $0 and $50/wk. Currently I hv $27 in my checking acct and $12 in my saving. I have a cd of $3000 however I have borrowed against to pay medical bills that insurance didn't cover from having my baby, 2 months back rent, that my ex-landlord patiently waited for 7 months after I had the baby.I've explained my situation to the lawyer and offered a pymt of $20/mo because that was what I can comfortable afford, until my medical assistance is accepted and situation improves. Of course they couldn't accept that and would see me in court. My question is can they garnish my piddle wages since sometimes I don't even get check? Can I object to the garnisnhment because I need it for basic support? If so how? Also can they garnish the cd even though I have a loan against? How should go about handling this situation in court. Because I want to pay but can't afford to pay what they want. I filed case w/ legal aid and requested that some go with me because I don't know what legal rights I have nor do understand that legal jargon. But I don't if they will come. I don't want to get screwed because I don't understand. PLEASE HELP!!

Before anything can happen the creditor would need to get a Judgment against you - do you have a defense? Is the debt out of Statute (and that depends on the State you are in)?

It is entirely possible that the creditor will get a Judgment and THEN agree to payments - the Judgment simply guarantees that the creditor will be paid if you default on your re-payment agreement.

Inability to pay is not a defense; however, many States have limits as to what can they can garnish (percentages of income and minimums).

A lot depends on which State you are in.

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This court case is to determine if you owe the money, you have to prove to the court that you don't owe the money, that the debt is past a SOL date or some reason you don't have to pay. So if you lose they get a judgement against you. With a jugement they are allowed to do many things by law depending on your state.

In court if you can prove you made a good faith effort to pay, perhaps offered 200 a month or something like that and they refused the judge may order a payment plan be allowed. To be fank, the 20 dollar a month will not even cover the interest they will be allowed most likely.

If they do get a judgement and your state allows a garnishment, it will depend upon the rules, some have a amount that is exempt, for lower income, other states don't. They will take a look at your gross pay, not your take home pay normally.

Hello everyone and anyone who can help. My situation is this: I am currently being sued by a credit collection agency for $2,698 that includes $1400 of interest and fee etc. My court date is this week. I am a single mom, w/ an 18 mo old baby, working PT. My pay is between $160 & 200/wk. However $140 is takeing out a wk for health insurance (I KNOW IT'S CRAZY!), which means my take home is btween $0 and $50/wk. Currently I hv $27 in my checking acct and $12 in my saving. I have a cd of $3000 however I have borrowed against to pay medical bills that insurance didn't cover from having my baby, 2 months back rent, that my ex-landlord patiently waited for 7 mos after I had the baby.I've explained my situation to the lawyer and offered a pymt of $20/mo because that was what I can comfortable afford, until my medical assistance is accepted and situation improves. Of course they couldn't accept that and would see me in court. my question is can they garnish my piddle wages since sometimes I don't even get check? can I object to the garnisnhment because I need it for basic support? if so how? also can they garnish the cd even though I have a loan against? How should go about handling this situation in court. cus I want to pay but can't afford to pay what they want. I filed case w/ legal aid and requested that some go with me cus I don't know what legal rights I have nor do understand that legal jargon. but I don't if they will come. I don't want to get screwed because I don't understand. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!
Thank u for your response. I'm in Maryland. The statue hasn't past yet. This is since I had the baby. But its not that I don't to want I just can't pay what they want me to pay.

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I'm sorry my response didn't go through. I live in Maryland.

I'm sorry my response didn't go thru. I live in maryland.



This should give you peace of mind - from Maryland law:

What amount can be garnished?
Federal law limits the amount of earnings that may be garnished to 25 percent of the debtor's disposable income. (Disposable earnings are the amount of earnings left after legally required deductions e.g. federal, state taxes, Social Security, unemployment insurance and medical insurance.)

However, for individuals earning minimum or near minimum wage, the debtor must be left with an amount equal to 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage.

Example
Debtor earns $5.15 per hour, (minimum wage).
Weekly gross earnings = $206.00 (40 hrs. x $5.15).
Subtract deductions; disposable earnings = $186.00.
30 x $5.15 (minimum wage) = $154.50.
$186.00 - $154.50 = $31.50.
Amount that can be garnished: $31.50 each week.

Disposable earnings are the amount of earnings left after legally required deductions (e.g. federal, state taxes, Social Security, unemployment insurance and medical insurance.)

If this is puzzling, post back and I (or someone else) will explain things to you in more detail.

Ok. So my last check after all those deductions my take home was a whopping $45. So what could they take from that?

Federal law limits the amount of earnings that may be garnished to 25 percent of the debtor's disposable income.


So the MOST they can take is 1/4 of your take home = slightly over $11. IF they decide to "go" this route.

This is a good argument for you to make IF they get a judgment and you would like to make payment arrangements. Maybe under any other circumstances a $20/month payment is unacceptable but with these figures it makes sense until you get back on your feet.

On a personal note - hug the baby. Things will get better.

Thank you, JudyKay Tee. Your advise has been very helpful and hopeful. And I definitely will.

thank you, JudyKay Tee. ur advise has been very helpful and hopeful. And I definitely will.


And if you get a chance, come back and let us know how this all worked out.

And as a single mother you very well could be very helpful to another single mother - you might want to come back and pitch in, answer a question or two, share some of your experiences, help someone - !

Federal Law does limit how much a creditor can take from a person that has debt. In fact in most cases, it is 25% of disposable income (after-taxes). If you need medical debt assistance, there are many out there that are experts. Some companies are specialized in medical debt while others are not. I called around and had a great experience with Your Medical Debt Help, Hospital Debt Relief and Unsecured Debt Help Information Specialists (http://www.medicaldebthelp.com) but there are many companies that can help.