‘Ask the lawyer’ session in Flint to teach people about court judgments

Flint, MI — Legal Services of Eastern Michigan (LSEM) is hosting an educational event to teach people how to handle court judgments against them.

The session will take place 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 9 on the second floor of the Flint Farmers’ Market, located at 300 E. First St.

At the session, people can learn how to protect wages and other assets when a judgement has been issued against them.

LSEM Pro Bono Coordinator Stacy Davis said that when a creditor obtains a judgment, their next step is to collect on that judgment.

Two of the main ways they do that is through wage garnishment or seizing assets.

With wage garnishment, she said, an order can require an employer to garnish up to 25% of wages for the employee. With seizure of assets, a law enforcement officer can come and take any assets that may be of value.

The creditor can also request garnishment of income tax refunds.

“That’s a huge thing for people during this time of year is wanting to make sure that they can protect their tax refunds,” Davis explained.

The March 9 session is for general information, but Davis said if someone needs help with a specific situation, her organization can refer them to resources. Or, she noted, if people can’t attend the session, they can reach out to Legal Services of Eastern Michigan directly for help.

“We just want to be able to go over and educate people on what options they have,” she said.

Davis said LSEM will be hosting educational events throughout the year with different topics at each of them. The next session is 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 13 at the Flint Farmer’s Market and the topic is how to possibly avoid probate in the future.