Bringing Payments Current Before Court to Avoid Garnishment
A few months ago my aunt gave mde an dd my husband a 8.000 dollar personl loan . After a few payments were made we had some personal and fincal set backs including trying to keep our hour from being foreclosed on. We have missed 3 payments to her. She lives in oklahoma and we live in tennessee. She had us served with papers she is sueing us. We called her to try and work this out but she will not budge on it.
my question is if we caught our payments up before the court hearing would that satisfy the judge or could he still garnish our wages?
—anita
Short answer
Your wages cannot be garnished until a judgment is entered against you, and that has not happened yet. Bring the payments current and add to them where you can, because with family that good faith effort is what may actually change the outcome.
Key points on this page
- A garnishment requires a judgment first, so there is still time
- Bringing payments current would not usually slow or stop a lawsuit brought by a bank or a finance company
- In a person to person loan, and especially within a family, a genuine effort to get back on track can produce the result you want
- Letting the case move through the courts adds costs, and some or all of those costs could land on you
- A judge is limited to questions of law and to the contract governing the loan, and if judgment is entered, to what state law allows to be garnished or levied
- Judges often press the parties to reach a satisfactory agreement outside court, which is more likely when you have made every good faith effort beforehand
Before your wages can be garnished you would have to have a judgment entered against you. It does not sound like that has happened yet.
You can certainly bring payments current and see if that changes your Aunt’s position on this. In the normal scope of being sued for a debt by a bank, or other type of financial services company, bring payments current would not generally slow or stop a lawsuit for payment. In person to person transactions, and certainly with family, a good faith effort to get back on track, or even bringing payments current – and then some, could yield the results you are looking for.
Ultimately, I am sure you want to get this repaid. If this is allowed to progress through the courts, there will be additional costs incurred. Some, or all of which, could fall on you.
As far as what a judge may do if you are making every good faith effort to repay your Aunt:
A judge is limited to questions of law and the contract that governs your loan with your Aunt. If a judgment is entered, the judge will similarly be limited to what state law says about what, and how much can be garnished or levied. I do know of many instances where a judge may make a firm suggestion that the parties take additional steps to come to a satisfactory agreement out side of the court. I could easily imaging a judge doing so in this case, especially if you have made all good faith efforts leading up to any hearing.
If it were me in your shoes, I would bring payments current and make additional payments towards the balance of the loan when and where possible right away.
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry. He is available to speak with you about your financial struggle and helps people resolve their debt problems daily.
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