Ok...the Wells-Fargo thing isn't going to go through at this time for me. When I first applied with them they pulled my credit and everything looked like a go. With the holidays and Citi Bank dragging their feet on a settlement agreement we were not able to get things settled in December and were all ready to complete this in January BUT when their underwriting pulled all three bureaus in January the charge off from Citi Bank was there and that changed many things. So, this is where I am now. 1. I have an 85% reduction agreement with Bank of America that I intend to fullfill. They have given me 6 months to pay off the $5,800 and I am going to have that taken care of by the end of April. 2. I still have a large CitiBank account to take care of but a few things have changed on this since early December. The account is in my husbands name ONLY...aprox. $28,000 now with interest/penalties, etc. My husband retired from his job effective December 31, 2007 and will begin to collect Social Security in Feb. 2008. What can they do to him with a $900 per month income? They can't come after my income, can they? They called on Friday and threatened all sorts of things and they continue to call my husbands work number even though I have asked them not to call that number. He is no longer employed there and it's becoming an annoyance to the new employee. Should I submit something in writing to them requesting that they not call that number? CMRRR of course. 3. I have two other smaller accounts that are going to charge off but I can take care of them after I finish paying the Bank of America settlement in April. One account is now with UCB, should I ask them to validate this account to buy some time? I've not yet heard from a CA on the other small account so am waiting for that.
Are you in a community property estate? You should at least start maintaining separate checking accounts. It also depends on the laws of your state what other assets they might can attach (such as the obvious equity in your home) yes
What is "community property estate"? Is it specific to my state? I am in Maine. You say to get separate bank accounts. Can they take money out of your accounts without a judgement? Or is this just to show that our funds are separate from one another? If they were to get a judgement, can he be made to pay from his SS check?
It is a community propery "state." I don't think Maine subsrcibes to that theory of property law so, it's inapplicable to you. Presuming Maine isn't a community property state, establishing a separate bank account would prevent yours being levied (unless Maine subscribes to a minority doctrine of necessaries view) for the debts of your husband and vice-versa. However, no, bank accounts generally cannot be legally levied without a Court order. I may be remiss but, I don't think SSI or Disability benefits can be garnished except for student loans (which is just inequitable but, it is the new rule of law).
Ok...after doing some searching I have found out that Maine is not a Community Property State and that SSI wages cannot be garnished. What would you do now? Just wait for them to take this to court? My husband is on the deed to our home...could they get a lien against the equity if there is nothing else for them to go after?
Federal Law prohibits them from attaching his Social Security, either before or after it hits the bank account. What can Citibank do? Sue,him, get a judgment and let it become a lien against his interest in the home, subject to any Homestead Exemptions that may exist. Other than being a pain in the butt, there is little else they can do.
Yes, they could enter a judgement and a lien against your home. This is not an issue as long as you both live there (and do not sell the home), and you are both alive. But you may want to consider moving the deed for the house over to your name, and quickly. Not to be a doomsayer, but leaving the deed in your husband's name creates an issue at probate time, if a judgement still stands on the property (at the time of probate). This means the home would have to be sold to pay the debt, or you would have to pay the debt to retain the home. If your husband is at retirement age, this should factor into an estate plan.
I know (at least in my state) that if things are transferred within a certain period of time preceding a legal action, that the court can rule that it was transferred just to avoid the consequences of the legal action and invalidate the transfer. I don't know if this is true in your state or not. I'd check on that, and check with a lawyer. Rather than just transferring to your name (which could be invalidated), there may be a way to do it without causing a problem.
What I am thinking is that this may be a negotiating tool for me to use when talking with them. I talked with them the other day and tried to get them to understand that until I pay off the settlement agreement with BOA I can't pay them anything but did offer to make $600 per month payments on the 50% reduction amount starting in May. Guess where that got me? I was thinking though that if they think that they are going to get nothing because they can't get his SSI that maybe they'll rethink this or at the very least if I put it in writing and then we do end up in court the judgement could end up being just what I want? Does that make sense? Maybe I'd be just as well of to have the lien on the property. My husband is heavily insured and being 20 years my elder chances are I will be able to pay this off from the life insurance at some point and time. The same could happen if anything were to happen to me. The mortgage is insured for both of us and we both have life insurance policies. Would the judgement be for the huge amount of interest and penalties that they have tacked on though? They're at 32% interest right now....
What is the difference between a will leaving anything that is his to me and a trust? I think I read something about this recently, maybe here, but I'm not real clear on it. If everything is in a trust then we don't have to do the probate stuff?
