Bankruptcy Petition

• List the creditor's name, address and amount of debt for any wage garnishments in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition. Retrieve the bankruptcy petition from the U.S. Courts website or the state bankruptcy court website. When the wage garnishment is for child support, financial restitution for criminal conduct, or for other types of non-dischargeable debts, include those monthly payment amounts in the Chapter 13 payment plan. The trustee ensures those payments are distributed to the proper creditors when the debtor starts making his trustee payments.
  
  

Notice of Bankruptcy Filing

• It may take a few days for the creditor to receive the notice of bankruptcy filing from the court after the case is filed. Contact the creditor and provide the bankruptcy case number after filing the paperwork with the court to stop any future wage garnishments as soon as possible. Faxing or emailing the creditor the notice of bankruptcy filing is another way to stop the wage garnishment. The process for stopping the wage garnishment with the employer's payroll department may take a few business days. If a deduction is made from the paycheck after the case is filed, the creditor will return the money to the debtor or debtor's attorney.
  
  

Wage Garnishment for Chapter 13 Payments

• In certain circumstances, the debtor may have his monthly trustee payments automatically deducted from his paycheck. Some debtors choose to have their trustee payments deducted because it will help them stay on track and provide the payments to their trustee on time. The trustee may request a wage garnishment for the bankruptcy case if the debtor is consistently late with submitting payments to the trustee. Setting up a wage garnishment may also be requested if the debtor's case was in danger of being dismissed due to failure to make plan payments.
  
  

Discharge

• Once the Chapter 13 case is completed, the creditors cannot attempt to garnish wages or collect money for the debts that were discharged in the bankruptcy. When creditors still try to collect on debts that were discharged, they are violating the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and can be sanctioned by the court. Keep copies of the bankruptcy petition listing all of the creditors and the discharge order mailed by the court. Inform the bankruptcy attorney of any collection activity by creditors during the bankruptcy and of any collection attempts by creditors for debts that were discharged.