I have searched the forums but can't find this exact situation and I am desperate for help. I lived in Ohio and allowed my MBA husband to handle our finances- I am a smarter woman now- I now live cross country without him although we are not yet divorced. Today I went to my checking account to find most of my account has been held via a garnishment. I called the court in Ohio and was told that it is for a credit card bill that Mr. MBA did not pay to the tune of $11,000. I did not receive notice of this as I am in Texas. Unifund out of Ohio has purchased the debt and apparently will be expecting me to pay the $11,000. I have 2 young children and what few assets I have are tied up in Ohio. The $800 that Unifund locked up was grocery, gas, and most of the rent money. Do I have any hope at this? I can't afford an attorney right now and really don't know what to do. I never dreamed that someone could come into my checking account and take out most of my money. Thank you for any help you might offer. Ms. Redneck
I had plenty off MBAs in my program that knew nothing about personal finance as well. They could do NPV calculations in their sleep, but ask them about something as basic as their credit score and you had them stumped. Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about your not-so-smart MBA husband who let a credit card go unpaid for so long that a judgment was obtained and now your accounts are being garnished. Contact your bank immediately and tell them that an unauthorized withdrawal was made from your account. If you've never received any information regarding a judgment against you, then tell your bank that and try to get your money back. Next, open up a new bank account and move your money somewhere else until you get this all figured out. Good luck!
Thanks so much! I know he is smart (4.0 and all) but jeez! You would think this would be pretty basic. Can I just call my bank and tell them not to release the funds to the bad debt people because I didn't get informed of the problem? That will work?
This could get a little tricky but if you can prove to the Ohio court that you now live in Texas and that the funds they tied up are child support payments of some kind then you might be able to get them released. That's going to be a difficult thing to do because first of all you will most likely need to find and hire a competent Ohio attorney to handle it for you. I don't think you would have much luck trying to do it pro se. Another thing you might do is apply to Texas welfare and Texas child support payments and let Texas handle it.
Re: Desperate for help- out of state account garnishment Yea, I'm not too clear on all the legal aspects of this. It seems like it could get a little hairy considering you're still married, yet separated, live in different states, and have young children that rely on you for support. But if you never received any information relating to the judgment and literally had no idea about it, you need to let your bank know that you believe it's an unauthorized withdrawal and allow them do some investigating. If the creditor garnishing your accounts can provide the necessary documentation, then it will be difficult to get your money back. In the meantime, move whatever cash you do have somewhere else until you figure things out.
