Q: What happens when your only income is wages during Garnishment.
So my wages are currently being garnished, can't afford bankruptcy. However I do not make enough money for them to garnish most weeks. My state (Oregon) has a minimum of $255 that cannot be garnished if you make less than that. So most weeks, no money is taken from my paycheck. What would happen if a creditor levy's my bank account and takes the money in there? The only money in my account is from wages that that they can't take from my paycheck. Is the creditor allowed to take everything in there even though the same money is except while in paycheck form?
A: As long as the ONLY funds in the bank account are directly traceable (keep your deposit records) to exempt sources, the bank account is likely to be considered exempt as well. Understand they can still garnish the account, and you will be out the money immediately, but you can file the included paperwork with the local court asking the Judge to order the funds returned to you upon your show that the funds are exempt. But the burden of proof is on you to establish that the funds in the bank account are the same as from exempt wages. IF you mix other funds in the same bank account, so the funds become commingled, you are likely to lose all exemption from garnishment.
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