That sinking feeling in your stomach is all too real. You opened your mail and found a “Notice of Garnishment,” or worse, you just looked at your paycheck and a huge chunk of your hard-earned money is simply… gone.
A wage garnishment is one of the most aggressive and humiliating collection tools a creditor can use. It’s a direct attack on your livelihood, and in Ohio, it’s a powerful one. But you are not powerless. There is a legal tool so strong it can stop a wage garnishment dead in its tracks, often the very same day.
That tool is bankruptcy, and at Fesenmyer Law Offices, we use it every day to give Ohio families immediate relief and a permanent solution. Filing for bankruptcy is not “giving up”; it’s activating your legal rights to protect your income and your future.
What is Wage Garnishment in Ohio?
In Ohio, when a creditor (like a credit card company, medical provider, or payday lender) sues you over an unpaid debt and wins a judgment, they can ask the court for a “writ of garnishment.” This legal order is sent directly to your employer, who is then legally required to withhold money from your paycheck and send it to your creditor.
How much can they take? Under Ohio law, a creditor can garnish **up to 25% of your disposable earnings** (what’s left after-tax and mandatory deductions). For a family already struggling to make ends meet, losing a quarter of your income is catastrophic. It means choosing between rent and groceries, or utilities and a car payment.
Many people think they can just ignore the lawsuit or the notice, but this is the worst possible move. The garnishment will happen, and it will continue, paycheck after paycheck, until the entire debt—plus interest and legal fees—is paid in full.
The “Automatic Stay”: Bankruptcy’s Most Powerful Tool
This is the most important concept you need to understand. The moment you file for bankruptcy—whether it’s Chapter 7 or Chapter 13—a federal law called the **”Automatic Stay”** goes into effect. This is one of the most powerful injunctions in the entire legal system.
The Automatic Stay is a legal shield that instantly, as in *immediately*, blocks your creditors from taking *any* action to collect a debt from you. This includes:
- Stopping wage garnishments
- Halting foreclosure proceedings
- Stopping vehicle repossessions
- Ending harassing phone calls and collection letters
- Freezing lawsuits
It is not a “request.” It is a mandatory, legally-binding order. Any creditor who willfully violates the Automatic Stay can be held in contempt of court and sanctioned.
How We Use Bankruptcy to Stop Your Garnishment—Immediately
At Fesenmyer Law Offices, our process is designed for immediate relief.
- Step 1: Your Free Consultation. You will meet directly with our attorney to go over your financial situation and review your garnishment order. We will explain your options with compassion and clarity.
- Step 2: We Prepare Your Filing. If you decide to move forward, our team works with you to gather the necessary documentation and prepare the bankruptcy petition.
- Step 3: We File Your Case. The moment we electronically file your petition with the Ohio bankruptcy court, the Automatic Stay is in place. You are protected.
- Step 4: We Notify Your Employer. This is the crucial step. We don’t wait for the court or the creditor. Our office immediately faxes or emails your employer’s payroll department, providing them with your bankruptcy case number and official notice that the Automatic Stay is in effect. They are now legally obligated to stop the garnishment on the very next payroll.
The relief is almost instantaneous. Your next paycheck will be your full, hard-earned paycheck. That 25% is back in your pocket, where it belongs.
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13: Which is Right for You?
Stopping the garnishment is the immediate goal, but bankruptcy also provides a long-term solution by dealing with the underlying debt that caused it. The right path depends on your specific situation.
Chapter 7: The “Clean Break” Solution
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is designed to wipe out your unsecured debts completely. For a wage garnishment, it’s a “one-two punch”:
- The automatic stay stops the garnishment immediately.
- A few months later, the bankruptcy discharge wipes out the entire debt that the creditor was garnishing you for.
So, not only does the garnishment stop, but the creditor can *never* try to collect on that debt again. For most of our clients, this is the most complete and effective solution. And thanks to Ohio’s generous exemption laws, the vast majority of people who file Chapter 7 keep their house, their car, and all their personal belongings.
Chapter 13: The “Reorganization” Solution
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a 3-to-5-year repayment plan. It’s often a better fit if you have a higher income, have valuable assets you want to protect, or are behind on house or car payments.
Here’s how it stops garnishment:
- The Automatic Stay stops the garnishment *immediately*.
- The debt from the creditor is rolled into a consolidated, affordable monthly payment that you make to a court-appointed trustee.
- You are protected from all your creditors. Instead of a 25% garnishment, you pay what you can *afford* as determined by the court, and at the end of your plan, your remaining unsecured debts are discharged.
A key benefit of Chapter 13: In some cases, we can even get back money that was *already* garnished! If a creditor garnished more than $600 from you in the 90 days *before* you filed for bankruptcy, that money can often be reclaimed as a “preferential payment” and returned to you.
Don’t Just Stop One Garnishment. Stop Them All.
Often, a wage garnishment is just the first domino to fall. If one creditor has a judgment, others are likely not far behind. Trying to fight off creditors one by one is like a stressful, unwinnable game of “whack-a-mole.” You might settle one, but two more will pop up.
Bankruptcy is the solution that stops the game for good. It’s a comprehensive tool that deals with all your unsecured debts at once—the credit cards, the medical bills, the payday loans, the repossessed car deficiencies—and gives you the fresh start you deserve.
Let Fesenmyer Law Offices Be Your Shield
You do not have to endure the stress and humiliation of wage garnishment. You have powerful legal rights, and the team at Fesenmyer Law Offices, LLC knows exactly how to use them to protect you and your family.
Serving the Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus areas we have helped thousands of Ohioans stop garnishments and regain control of their financial lives. The moment you hire us, the fight is no longer yours to bear alone. We become your shield.
That notice in your hand is not the end. It’s the sign that it’s time to act. Call us today for a **free, confidential consultation, and let us put a stop to your garnishment immediately.
