My bank account was levied? please read it is really important :( I'm desperate?

[bearchan]

I am currently severely disabled and out of work. I used to be a corrections officer making way more money then i am getting right now. I was injured on the job and as a result am no longer able to work. To make a long story short i was unable to continue paying my credit card bills after i was injured. i missed a few payments and when i attempted to start paying them again the minimum balances were way to high and the credit card companies were unwilling to work with me. I have seen saving up every extra penny i can from my workers comp checks to go bankrupt and do the right thing. However it has taken me a while as i have a huge over head. Recently my house burned down and i had to buy everything brand new which set me back a lot. I have 2 small children who i am unable to care for by myself due to my disability so i have to pay a full time nanny to help me due things. Anyway the money that was in my bank account was deposits i made solely from my workers compensation pay checks. not even one penny was from another source. I received a letter some time back saying that a judgement had been made against me and that they way garnish my wages or levy my bank account however money from Pension funds, disibility, social security and workers compensation was exempt and could not be touched so i thought i was okay. Yesterday i come to find out that 1500.00 was levied from my bank account from a company called midland funding. How is this possible? that is all the money i had been saving to pay my bankruptcy attorney. IDK what to do. Please do not judge me or speak ill of me. I was a 23 year old corrections officer in the prime of my career and i was dealt a bad hand. I didn't ask for this to happen to me. Ive been working since i was 13 and would do anything to return to work if i could :(. Please any insight into my problem would be so greatly appreciated. thank you

[smid]

I am currently severely disabled and out of work. I used to be a corrections officer making way more money then i am getting right now. I was injured on the job and as a result am no longer able to work. To make a long story short i was unable to continue paying my credit card bills after i was injured. i missed a few payments and when i attempted to start paying them again the minimum balances were way to high and the credit card companies were unwilling to work with me. I have seen saving up every extra penny i can from my workers comp checks to go bankrupt and do the right thing. However it has taken me a while as i have a huge over head. Recently my house burned down and i had to buy everything brand new which set me back a lot. I have 2 small children who i am unable to care for by myself due to my disability so i have to pay a full time nanny to help me due things. Anyway the money that was in my bank account was deposits i made solely from my workers compensation pay checks. not even one penny was from another source. I received a letter some time back saying that a judgement had been made against me and that they way garnish my wages or levy my bank account however money from Pension funds, disibility, social security and workers compensation was exempt and could not be touched so i thought i was okay. Yesterday i come to find out that 1500.00 was levied from my bank account from a company called midland funding. How is this possible? that is all the money i had been saving to pay my bankruptcy attorney. IDK what to do. Please do not judge me or speak ill of me. I was a 23 year old corrections officer in the prime of my career and i was dealt a bad hand. I didn't ask for this to happen to me. Ive been working since i was 13 and would do anything to return to work if i could :(. Please any insight into my problem would be so greatly appreciated. thank you

What State do you live in? Are you in the US?

I would get on the telephone with a free legal aid office and/or call an attorney for a free, one time consultation and get to the bottom of this and determine if your Pension, SS, Disability and Worker's Comp really is exempt.

Some people dont even attempt to give push back to institutions like banks, courts, etc because they dont understand their legal right to do so. There should be an appeals process...in my opinion.

Get on the telephone or go down to your local / county / municipal SNAP and welfare office and wait on line for ever and a day --- but get in there and find out what kind of emergency assistance you might have access to.

Also, SOME churches might be able to direct you to a church member who may be an attorney or perhaps they know of an agency that can help.

Tell them that without these funds that have been seized you are in danger of being homeless (even if it isnt true TODAY) and then Health and Human Services might get involved.

I realize I'm giving you a lot of maybe's or "you can try ...this or that" kind of stuff. And, I know that dealing with Govt agencies can be really frustrating. So, going to them to help sort out some of these devastating issues can also add to an already frustrating situation.

Let your preferred (if you have found one) bankruptcy attorney know that you had or ALMOST had his/her retainer or fee saved up and then some pencil pushing bureaucratic moron got their greedy grubby hands on your earmarked money. Explain to the attorney the best you can what happened and what you are needing to happen ---- he's / she's an attorney, after all --- maybe he/she can point you in a direction that could be helpful.

I'm so sorry that this has happened to you and yours. Keep your chin up and know that this is a temporary set back and try to stay tenacious in finding a solution and a way out of this somewhat successfully.

DONT LET ANYONE JUDGE YOU. If you need to file for bankruptcy --- DO IT. Better to have a clean slate upon which to build a future thereby allowing you to be a contribution to society and the world at large than to have you suffering. That leads to depression and a feeling of defeat.

You cant help yourself or others if you feel defeated.

I feel as though there must be some compromise to resolve this. However, if I know the US Government (if you are in the US -- and I think you are) Uncle Sam will take his share --- for sure. Even if you are successful in getting a good outcome and get solid and helpful advice --- whatcha wanna bet Uncle Sam still gets a few good pennies on the dollar.

Gotta build those roads, prisons, bridges and bail out more banks for the overall social compact, dontcha know.

I know.....I know....I'm being facetious and that's not helpful now is it?

LoL

Keep your chin up. Stay a strong and proud American and know that you have a great Spirit that fights and wins!

[abraham90]

are you receiving food stamps? why not have a live-in nanny so part of her pay is the room (and shared bath) that you allow her to use. As long as the bills you owe aren't as high as $65,000 in medical bills then you should not go bankrupt. How long will WC be covering you? Ask the disability office if you're supposed to go on SSdisability until you retire. That's right, credit card companies don't work with individuals, but they will work with a government run place like CredAbility (used to be called Consumer Credit Counseling) and it's a free service and they have a website and you'd need an appointment to see them (with your bills listed...company name, interest amount, how much you owe, how much of what you owe is interest, etc...well CredAbility needs to know everything in dollars from you). If you are disabled and work then your SSdisability benefits would be cut down or cut off depending on how much you earn. Maybe that's the same with WC. I didn't know WC continues for a time; all I know is that they paid the medical bills from an accident and that's all, and if you wish to sue the company for more then you need an attorney to do that for you.

Yes, a judgment is what creditors do when a person doesn't pay their bills an yes they can put a lien on your bank account, your car, your home. Some pension funds they can't touch to find out which ones those are. If you're on SSdisability you can't own more than $2,000 but I don't know if that includes funds from retirement or not. I believe they could also attach your IRS refund.

If you're working or have funds coming in then a judge will change your bankruptcy from a chapter 7 to a chapter 13 and you'd have to do a five year repayment plan and only an attorney can figure that for you. Your attorney's fee would be included in the five year repayment plan. It's better that you start with CredAbility then instead of doing the Chapter 13 and if CredAbility can't do it for you then take it to an attorney to do a Chapter 13.

Since you have two small children I'd be wondering if those children are being paid child support from your ex-wife, you might want to check on that. And, I'd be wondering why your parents or her parents aren't helping with the children (at the very least babysitting so you get a break). And, talk with your CPA to see if you can sell your home (if you own it) to a family member with the stipulation that you can live there the rest of your life for free if you take care of the home and your children can live there for free until they're 18. Eventually our kids can help upkeep the home, teach them when they get older. .

[macquaid35]

If you didn't show up for the hearing and make the claim that the money in your account is from an exempt source then the judgment creditor and the court has no way of knowing that the funds are exempt. (not judging, just saying).

You need to act on this quickly since you only have a matter of a few days to reverse the garnishment, possibly as little as 10 days.

I've placed a link in the source box that gives a step by step guide (use Option A) in how to deal with the judgment creditors lawyer in having the levy lifted and the exempt funds returned. That should probably get you your money back, BUT, you should Google your states Rules of Civil Procedure and make sure that your state does not require that you file an exemption notice with the court.

A couple of other tips that the guide doesn't include ... you should also go to the bank and request a copy of the levy for your own files. While you have to provide at least 3 banks statements, you do NOT have to provide much more than the deposit portion of your statements. Ask your bank if they will give copies of your statements that show your deposits only. If they won't then you should redact (magic marker) all of the non deposit transactions that may show up on the copies of your regular bank statements. There is absolutely no reason to allow the judgment creditor, and eventually the court, to see your purchase activity. All they need is the deposit info, which of course should show your name, the banks name, the account number, etc.

Also, since you had failed to show up in court and claim the exemption then the judgment creditor 'may' not be liable for any amount you may have lost due to bounced checks, bank fees, etc., because of the levy. If they had known the funds were exempt but had frozen/levied the account anyway then they would definitely be liable for those charges.

Today you should Google and read your states Rules of Civil Procedures. Tomorrow you should get with your bank and get the ball rolling on informing the judgment creditor of your exemption.

Wishing you better luck in the future!!

edit
It appears that in NJ you have to claim a written exemption (including a certificate of service) with both the court and the judgment creditors lawyer. There are several things that do concern me. Two of the major things are if too much time had passed since you received the proper paperwork, and, if you actually had received the proper paperwork. It seems that in NJ the judgment creditor must file a Motion to Turn Over Funds. Then they must send a copy of that Motion to both you and the bank, and if you filed an answer to exempt your funds then there would be a hearing.

I would suggest that you go to the free site that I've listed in the source box and post your question in the Credit Forum. There are people on that site that know more about the NJ laws concerning this then what I can learn from my quick searches.