Can my wages be garnished for my husbands unpaid medical bills?  We are not separated and live together.?
371807
It depends on the law in the state you're in.  A couple of things come into play.  \n\n1)Some states what's yours is his, and what's his is yours, meaning you both are responsible for the debt regardless of who signed for it.  \n2)Some states has long as you make a payment on a medical bill will prevent it from being reported (this is just a couple of states though).  \n3)Next try submitting the bill to your insurance for processing.  It doesn't have to be done by the hospital to be paid, you'll need an itemized statement from them, but then you can file and your insurance will either pay them directly or issue you a check.  Also if the hospital was "in-network" for the insurance they'll send an explanation of benefits showing what you truly owe.  For example the hospital billed $15 for a shot, well if you have no insurance then you pay $15, but if you have insurance and they are "in-network" that charge might become $5 and then you only owe your portion of the "contracted" charge.  This results in major savings since the $10 gets written off as a contractual adjustment, meaning they agreed to only charge $5 not $15.  \n4)Since you were served court papers and chose not to attend you effectivly "agreed" to any order before the judge.  Getting that fixed now will be a problem.  Again though go through your insurance and at least get the amount reduced to the contractual amount.
1093300
This is not so in every case.  The law is simply that the natural parent must pay for the support of the child through emancipation.  One could pay directly.  And if one was not working, there could be no garnishment but the obligation to pay goes with the person.
750477
Let me help you with this. I was once in your shoes. Take your paystub & a copy of monthly bills to the hospital billing office. Meet with a billing supervisor. Show them your financial statis. Tell them you are trying to pay them as fast as you can. They can help you with a payment schedule. If they get obnoxius or refuse to help. Go to an attorney & file medical bankruptcy. The hospital will usually try to help you rather than loose everything you owe them in bankruptcy procedings. Cheer up it's always darkest before dawn. Good Luck!
777943
Have his wages garnished! Plain and simple. If the state doesn't start collecting on his wages then they will press charges and he will go to jail. You could always find out who his supervisors superviors is and give them a piece of you mind if that doesn't work keep asking to talk to the supervisors supervisors until you get to the top.
1123511
I would first of all go to the hospital and see if they will agree to a payment plan. It is my understanding that as long as you pay, consistenly, something on a bill you can't be taken to court (don't quote me on this)...but my first stop would be the accounting department of the hospital in question.  \n\nAsk them where you can go for help in paying.....Remember, you are not the first patient that can't pay.  Just make sure you don't let any family member co-sign anything to do with this bill.  \n\nLast but not least (and this is the last resort) if you can't get help eitther with the hospital or a govt agency,you couuld declare bankruptcy.....but this is a BIG step and will follow you for, I believe, 7 years.
637973
Give me her number and I'll try to talk some sense into her. Seriously if my husband is injured I will think of his welfare first before I go to a dentist a get a bill of $655. What kind of a wife is this, she should learn budgeting and handling money. Tell her to be patient and that you are still not well to earn all that money. Be patient (oh well, you already are).
977956
Are you still paying them? I mean putting money into the account that they are garnishing? Are they garnishing it or do they have a "HOLD" on your account until the funds are paid? You take a risk having Direct deposit into ANY account, they can and will find out and then your mother's funds will be held as well. The best thing you can do is get your paycheck in your hand, then cash it at a check cashing store or something of the like, then you can deposit the money into your mom's account. That won't stop them from going further though. The credit a**holes may even try to get the money taken directly out of your check, they do this by going to court and getting a legal document to send to your job, then your employer will know your in debt as well. It sucks, but if I were you, I'd do what I could to get it paid off asap, they don't care what your circumstances are, they just want their money.\nSTOP DIRECT DEPOSIT all together !!!!\n\n\nAdditional:\n\nFor Chef,,, I live in Illinois and this happened to me, they froze my account.  I owed medical bills, under my name alone, I did not have the money, my child was sick, they put a "hold" on my bank account which also had my husband's name on it and neither of us could touch the money in there until the funds were enough to pay off the debt. I went to the bank, the creditor, everyone because my husband had direct deposit and we had to pay rent, they did NOT care... just said.. pay the debt and we'll lift the hold... the judges don't care either, they grant these bloodsuckers the permission to do these things without the slightest regard to circumstance !! I had to borrow money to be able to get the rent paid, then my husband cancelled his direct deposit until we had enough $$ to pay off the debt.. for all those saying they can't legally do it... they did... it happened to me and I went to a lawyer too and they told me there was nothing that could be done because they had a signed judgement against me. I begged everyone and their brother from bank workers to nasty receptionists at the company responsible.. this was over a medical bill... not like I charged up shoes or something, my son was very ill and needed treatment, if I would have had the $$ I would have paid.. regardless... they can do it in some states.. they DID do it... STOP DIRECT DEPOSIT ASAP !!!
353323
Contact them as soon as possible to set up a payment plan.  Most government agencies are willing to work with you on that.  I've seen people pay as little as $20/month on debts owed to the government.  Depending on your situation, they may even take off any interest or late fees.  Just make sure you contact them before they start garnishing your wages.  You do NOT want that to happen...depending on the debt, they can take as much as 25% of your disposable income.  Good luck!
18549
All hospitals are non profit meaning they have to treat you no matter your financial income. You should be able to call the hospital that you went to and talk to a financial counseler, and explain to them your hardship and moe than likely they will give you assistance and write the bill off. I had over $20,000 in bills and that is what I did and they wrote the entire bill off so I paid nothing. Try that and I hope that it works out for you.
175470
If the medical bills are your spouses, you may be able to get a judge to rule that they are responsible for the debt in the divorce papers. If the bills are for you or your child, I don't think you'll find a judge that will place the entire burden on your spouse.
658621
I am not an attorney, my opinion is not to be alarmed! Do be informed. \nThe laws on garnishment differ from State To State. Best to look at your state laws. A collection agency acts on behalf of their client. How aggressive does the client want to be on medical bills? That too will differ as cosmetic surgery differs from having an appendix out. Is the original amount $500.00 or can it be driven up by fees or interest attorneys fees etc? Do not be alarmed by idle threats. Do get the facts. Check the FTC web site for consumer information. \n\nYou can stop collection agencies from calling you. I have used the form letters in credit repair kits found in office supply stores and on-line.
345465
Below is a link to the Florida Garnishment Laws.  Since you were not real specific on what you need, this is the whole think.  ;)
402519
It's tricky how this works so bear with me,\n\n   In Washington, companies need to give employees notification when they start garnishing wages.  These notifications are not served at work, but rather via a certified letter to your last known address (at least, that's how it's supposed to be done).  Not recieving this letter DOES NOT mean they can't start garnishing your wages, as the employer must do this immediatley when they recieve the court order.\n\nWage garnishments are used to collect money that you already know you owe and have not remitted to some agency (Child support, a lawsuit, Federal taxes, etc).  I suppose no matter how much it sucks, you're being garnished for something you have already done, and it's money you know you owe.  As such, your employer does not need your permission to do it.  They do however have to tell you what agency is collecting the money if you ask them, and the are required to TRY to mail you a copy of the writ.  By them not doing it, it certainly will not stop the garnishment, but you can file a greivance with the state AG.
888136
The court can order garnishment, if the person doesn't pay on their own. What you could do is petition the court for such an order, and explain why it's necessary.
222042
You you can.  But it's still going to take a lawyer to help divide the debts between you and your husband.\n\nYou also need to contact your bankruptcy lawyer and trustee, because it's going to have a drastic effect on you "plan".
324229
Is it past the statute of limitations on verbal agreements in your state. If not you probably could win at least part of it but than you have to figure out how you are going to collect it. It is not the duty of the court to make him pay you.
563981
If you file jointly then you won't get what's owed to you. File separately if you want your money.\nOf course the big question is why isn't he paying his child support?