I've received a Writ of Garnishment from a law firm that I lost a collection case against nearly a year ago. The writ says they are going to attach money from an account at a bank that I have NO accounts with. After some thought I began to realize that my elderly father does have an account at that bank and I think the law firm may have gotten ahold of an account my father possibly set up a few years ago and placed my future inheritance into it. To do so he must have given them my name, ss number and so on. This money would revert to me as my inheritance once he dies. I had no idea if he did this or not, but I recall him talking about 10 years ago. Can this law firm take that money even thou I didn't set up that account and could I argue that the money is not mine nor did I agree to that account? The Writ is for nearly $9000. Im only guessing that this is what they are after since I have NO account at that bank. I'd like to be certain they can't attach that account before I ask my father if he really did open such an account for me. I really don't want to reveal to my father my financial problems and the possibility that this account, if it exists, may be in jeopardy before I know the facts about whether they can attach it.
It is better to be safe than sorry.When dealing with ca's or lawyers always assume the worst.Ask your father if he has any accounts at this bank in question in his name or any other persons name.If he says yes than i would tell him about your problem.If would be sad if your fathers hard earned money ended up in the hands of these people.
Not to detract from the other posters good advice, it isn't your money until your father passes away. They might have a garnishment action and right but not against someone else's money. Normally a garnishment order is only a one shot deal and they can only get what is in the bank account at the time of the garnishment. They can't get money that isn't yours but that don't mean that it can't happen and you might very well end up having to fight that in court. So follow the advice of the other poster. You might also go to that bank and ask to withdraw all of the money in the account. Of course they will most likely tell you that you can't do that. Ask them why not and they will probably tell you that you can't do that because you are not entitled to the money until your father passes away. If that is true then how can it be garnished? They may also claim you can't do that because of the garnishment. If so then ask them if you could withdraw all the money from the account if there were no garnishment. If the answer is still no because your father is still living then you are back to the same argument that if you can't withdraw from it until your father passes on then how can it be garnished? See what comes of that argument. If it is an inheritance it would most likely have to be probated in court before they could pay it to you in the first place.
As it turns out I went to that bank today and spoke with the manager. It seems I have NO account there nor could my father have opened an account to place money it in for me as part of an inheritance package using my name and SS number. I then called the collection agency and asked them why the have a writ for an bank that I have no account with. It seems they were bluffing and they are going to keep issuing these writs for ALL the banks in the area until they come across an account. I do have accounts at other banks. I keep no more than $400 in them at any time just because of this. The writ I have is a NON-PERIODIC writ. From your post are you saying they could only take what was in there at the time and never do it again? Is that right? I only have business account, NO personal accounts. Can they go after these accounts? I'd hate to go to the bank one day and find out all my business checks have been bouncing because they took all my money!
It can't be legally possible to attach accounts that don't belong to me. How can they go after my fathers accounts? Just because he's my father doesn't mean they can grab his money.
It appears from what you say that they are trying to guess at where you might have an account, and your father did not in fact open such an account in your name. If he had opened an account in your name, and you were aware of it, it seems to me that he would in effect have given the money to you at that time. You would have the right to withdraw the money and spend it, if you knew it existed, and he wouldn't have any more rights to the money. If he had, and your name and SSN were on it and not his, then they would probably be able to garnish it. What else would the bank use to determine what the garnishment order applied to, but the names and SSNs on their accounts?
off the subject Im a newbie mom i cosigned a car for my daughter and she keeps getting behind on the notes im trying to get a house and she knows this should i get them to repo it or pay the notes and get the car she is messing up my credit HELP!!
As a cosigner, you are on the hook. You would have been better off just lending her the money directly. Get it repo'd and you will probably get stuck for the difference between what she owes and what they sell it at auction, with a bunch of fees charged to you as well. As a bonus, you get additional negative credit marks as they try to collect it from you. Can you get your daughter to make her payments directly to you, and you make them to the lender whether you have been paid yet or not? In effect, set up a revolving signature loan with your daughter, but where you have control over paying before they are late, if your daughter fails to? If she can't afford to buy the car, can you get your daughter to cut her losses and sell the car and pay of the loan? If there was a remaining balance she couldn't cover, you would have to make up the difference, presumably collecting it from her later... Interesting question: The lender can look to the cosigner for payment if the borrower fails to pay, but if they haven't asked you for payment, or if you pay within a reasonable time after they do, are the borrower's lates reportable against the co-signer?
Not quite. Their garnishment is probably only good for one shot. Then they have to get another garnishment order to do a second one. Sometimes it is that way and sometimes it can be a continuing garnishment. Just depends on state law, the judge and what they ask for. So it could be either way. Probably. Count on the fact that it can happen very easily. Worse than that it can cost you another $100 or more each time they garnish because of bank fees. Find an out of state bank that will let you bank on line. There are lots of those out there.
"Find an out of state bank that will let you bank on line. There are lots of those out there." If I was to get an out of state bank account, wouldn't they find that account in a matter of days? They have databases now where all they have to do is punch in my SS number to find any account that is open under that SS nationwide?
yes there is a database out there...if your ssn is tied to any account they will find it. business or personal it doesnt matter, if the business account is llc or similiar it usually cant be attached though.
Are you sure about the LLC thing? If I was to open a business checking account and I registered my business as an LLC they wouldn't be able to attach that account?
When I was at the bank they printed out a statement that showed how many bank accounts I had, what banks they were with and when they were opened! All they did was punch in my SS number. It's a sytem banks use to see if you've had problems or owe money to other banks before they will allow you to open an account with them. It's called ChexSystems. So I would Imagine that CA's also have access to systems like this.
if your business is LLC or the like they cannot attach that account unless the business name is on the debt. however, if you are named on your current business account and it is only a dba or the like, its attachable. im not an attorney so you may wish to check with one, but im certain im correct.
Then it would seem to me that if people wanted to shield themselves from CA's all they would have to do is file some papers and open an account with a bank under a business name registered as an LLC and that account is free and clear of seizure or garnishments from personal debt? That can't be true? Sounds to easy. .
