Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

Of course they'll likely keep garnisheeing you, and since they have found a way to force you to pay what a court ordered you to pay when you refused, why would they talk with you? You either will need to discharge your debt in bankruptcy if you are eligible, pay an amount they actually agree to, or continue to risk garnishment.

Now, do what you should have done well before all the garnishment and past payments - see a lawyer to review what options you have. You likely have wasted far more money than a lawyer would have cost.

There is no law that states that a creditor must settle with you. While most creditors generally will settle for between 50% and 80% of the judgment balance, it depends on the particular creditor. Some creditors will not settle at all or will want close to 100% of the debt.

I also don't know what you are offering to settle. Are you offering a lump sum? Most creditors will not settle a debt if you want to make payments. Rather, the payments will be applied on the full amount of the judgment plus interest - so you need to pay as much interest as accrues on a monthly basis plus something on the principal or the judgment will never go down. I don't how much the original judgment was for and how much was subject to garnishment so I don't know what is left owing. To be reasonable, a settlement offer should be at least 50% of the current balance. If they want more and you don't have it, some creditors will then allow you to make payments on the balance, but some will not. Any payments though generally have to be made in 1-6 months, although some creditors may let you go a bit longer.

To prevent them from garnishing your wages, some creditors will make suitable arrangements and sign an agreement whereby they promise not to seize your bank account or garnish your wages so long as you make the regular payments to them. Did you ever try that? Or did you just not pay?

In answer to your question, the garnishment can continue for 179 days at a time but can be renewed an infinite number of times and is continuing. Moreover, the judgments can be revived after 7 years from the date of entry. If revived, that means that the creditor can keep executing.

So you need to figure out some way to resolve this. You can keep on doing what you are doing and allow the creditor to garnish your pay until the debt is paid. Depending on your assets and debts, you may also want to go talk to a bankruptcy attorney like Attorney Ashman.

Please contact me at [email protected] if you would like to address the specifics of your situation. I give free email consults and charge $50 for a 30 minute phone consult. I also can resolve the debts in a non-bankruptcy context for a reasonable fee.