[MomWesson6]

I live in Illinois, being sued by credit card company. I already have one garnishment on my paycheck. How do I let the courts know I already have one? I only work part time and cannot afford a lawyer, bankruptcy, or even go to court (I would have to miss a day at work). Thanks for any help!

[AmieRenee1980]

It's worth at least consulting a Bankruptcy attorney, most give free consultations. You may be eligible for a Chapter 13 which often requires a fairly small filing fee, and the monthly payment to the Trustee may be less than what is being garnished now, and the Bankruptcy would stop the garnishment once the appropriate notices were filed and orders issued.

Not sure if you need to notify the Court of the other garnishment, after all, if both suits are filed in the same county it's likely the Court is well aware of it. I believe that what happens is the creditor obtains a judgment, then a writ of garnishment and that is served on your employer, and your employer has to respond to that either saying they will withhold according to the writ, or that they cannot withhold, and they would state that the reason is because you are already being garnished by another creditor. So basically this creditor would have to wait their turn to garnish your wages because there is only a certain percentage of your disposable income that they can take, not sure what it is in your state.

Of course they could try to satisfy their judgment by other means, such as garnishing your bank account, or even attaching that judgment to any real or personal property you own.

This is how it works here in AL, not certain in IL, but you could always call the clerk of Court and ask them what happens on their end if another garnishment is ordered.