Ask Me Help Desk - Wage deduction

I work in property management. We have begun the garnishment of several of our evicted tenants. We have received back interrogatories on some indicating that there is not enough funds to garnish and nothing is being withheld. What do I do now? Also is it possible not to make enough to be garnished? And now I need to know what to do when I get back an interrogatory that says they will be withholding funds? I am in Illinois and have gotten absolutely no help from my clerks office. Please help, is there a place online I can find samples of completed forms and info?
:confused:

Somebody, anybody?? please?

This is not a chat board. Answers may take anywhere from a few minutes to several days.

You are running up against the Catch-22 of judgements. Generally getting a judgement is the easy part. Then good luck on collecting it. The plaintiff has to find income and assets on their own. You can subpeona interrogatories, but often they are incomplete. You can hire a PI to find assets. But its not an easy task to find assets to attach.

Sorry Scott, I am just a bit confused and I guess frustrated might be the word? I really wanted to do something wonderful for my employment that might generate a raise. Well as you said it's a catch 22 and it looks as if I am going nowhere at a very high rate of warp speed.

Are you self-employed, or do you work for a larger property management company?

I would STRONGLY recommend membership in an apartment association or a landlord's association for you and / or your employer's company. Just Google your city and/or state, as well as landlord and/or apartment & association. You'll get tons of options. These groups are wonderful for navigating difficult, frustrating stuff like you're dealing with. Some even have legal counsel that questions can be posed to through the association.

Sadly (sorry), I've found that (like scott said) it's pretty easy to get judgements when someone violates their lease. Collecting on the judgement is nearly impossible. It's a small consolation that obtaining the judgement hurts their credit and will hopefully prevent them from renting decent property in the future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by demishel

I work in property management. we have begun the garnishment of several of our evicted tenants. we have received back interrogatories on some indicating that there is not enough funds to garnish and nothing is being withheld. what do i do now? also is it possible not to make enough to be garnished? and now i need to know what to do when i get back an interrogatory that says they will be withholding funds? I am in Illinois and have gotten absolutely no help from my clerks office. please help, is there a place online i can find samples of completed forms and info?
:confused:

Yes, the various States protect assets to a certain extent. The overwhelming majority base the amount which cannot be touched - people need money to live - on Federal Law and minimum wage.

Illinois - When the employer receives the summons, the employer must hold a portion of the judgment debtor’s non-exempt wages. The employer is not allowed to deduct from take-home pay any amount that would leave the judgment debtor less than 45 times the current federal minimum wage. Right now, the federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour. This means that the debtor is entitled to take home at least $231.75 per week. If the judgment debtor makes less than this amount, no wages can be deducted. If the judgment debtor makes more than this amount per week, the employer can deduct the lesser of the following two amounts: (1) 15% of weekly gross wages, or (2) the amount of take-home pay over and above $231.75. The employer may also withhold an additional small amount as a fee for responding to the wage deduction process.

As noted each state has its exemptions some states don't even allow garnishments. So yes if you have people who earn too little, you will not be able to get any money from them this way.

In general a large percent of judgements never get collected, merely winning in court is easy, it is often hard to ever collect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockinmommy

Are you self-employed, or do you work for a larger property management company?

I would STRONGLY recommend membership in an apartment association or a landlord's association for you and / or your employer's company. Just google your city and/or state, as well as landlord and/or apartment & association. You'll get tons of options. These groups are wonderful for navigating difficult, frustrating stuff like you're dealing with. Some even have legal counsel that questions can be posed to through the association.

Sadly (sorry), I've found that (like scott said) it's pretty easy to get judgements when someone violates their lease. Collecting on the judgement is nearly impossible. It's a small consolation that obtaining the judgement hurts their credit and will hopefully prevent them from renting decent property in the future.

Thanks rockinmommy, I will def do that asap.