Does bankruptcy in Missouri get wage garnishments stopped?

Bankruptcy in Missouri can potentially get your wage garnishments stopped, depending on what those wage garnishments are for. Wage garnishment occurs when you have a judgment issued against you from a creditor's lawsuit and the court puts in a garnishment order to satisfy the judgment. Wage garnishment can occur because of a lawsuit from any type of creditor. 

Bankruptcy, however, will only help you to stop a garnishment if the money is being garnished to pay a debt that is eligible for inclusion in a bankruptcy filing. This means if your garnishment is for:

• An unpaid personal loan
• Unpaid medical bills
• Unpaid credit card debt

Then you can generally have the garnishment stopped. As soon as you file for bankruptcy protection, collection efforts must stop. Your debts will then either be discharged as a part of chapter 7 or will be included in your chapter 13 repayment plan, so there will be no further reason for any garnishment of your wages.

However, if the wage garnishment is for:

• Back child support
• Back taxes
• A judgment against you for something like a personal injury lawsuit in which you were the defendant

the bankruptcy likely will not help you. These types of debts are not included in a bankruptcy discharge and are not eligible for bankruptcy protection, so a bankruptcy will have no impact on them.

Before you file bankruptcy, it is important to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer who can assist you in making sure that your bankruptcy will actually help you to deal with the particular debt that you are struggling with.