Secret Danger of Garnishment to Social Security Recipients

As I have pointed out in my video about garnishing Social Security, Social Security benefits are exempt from most forms of garnishment – the notable exception to that rule is that they may be garnished by certain government entities.

Although Social Security benefits are exempt from most forms of garnishment, I warned that they could still be attached and taken if they are in a bank account that the creditor happens to find. When bank accounts are garnished, they are held by the bank for a time to allow you to fight the garnishment. As a practical matter, you may be unable to fight the garnishment, and thus if you are having trouble paying your bills and have paid for them with an account that holds Social Security benefits, it makes very good sense to switch those benefits to another bank (not just bank account in the same bank) – because once there is a judgment against you the debt collector is bound to attempt to seize any assets in a bank they have on file for you. I realize this can be difficult or disruptive, but if you have paid an original creditor or debt collector out of an account, you must expect that account to be garnished – seized and taken away from you – if the debt collector manages to get a judgment.

If it is seized, you may or may not be able to get the money back, but there will certainly be a delay, and all the money in the account, up to the amount of the judgment, will be held by the bank and unavailable to you.

There is another danger to Social Security recipients.

Social Security recipients are often elderly or disabled, needless to say, and many of these allow other people to do shopping for them or to hold their assets in one way or another to use for their benefits. This money is held in trust and should not be available to debt collectors who are after the person who is holding the money.

Here is an example that might make it clearer. If Mary (a 70 year old woman suffering from Altzheimer’s) is being taken care of by her son Tom, Mary and Tom will frequently find it helpful to allow Tom to use Mary’s account to pay her bills. If Mary’s account contains only Social Security benefits, it should be beyond the reach of any creditor, and because the money is not Tom’s at all, it should not be reachable by Tom’s creditors in any event.

However, sometimes debt collectors will discover that Tom is paying bills using Mary’s account. If his name is on the account, or if he is permitted to write checks upon it, the debt collectors may attempt to garnish the account.

This is not as “evil” as it may first appear. From the debt collector’s point of view, how do they know what bills Tom is paying with the account? People have often tried to hide assets from debt collectors by using other people’s accounts, and the law is designed to let go after the debtor’s money regardless of whose name it is.

On the other hand, the impact of Mary’s account being seized for Tom’s debt can be devastating. Because once again the money will be held out of use for a period of time that allows the parties to prove whose money it is and whether it can be seized. During that time, the elderly person cannot pay her bills, may be evicted, or face other, life-threatening and disrupting events.

Get Legal Advice

Therefore, if you have a judgment against you on a debt you should seek the advice of a lawyer specializing in debt collection before allowing the account to be linked to you in any way. In my opinion, the risk extends beyond just having your name on the account. If you sign checks on behalf of someone else and there is a judgment against you, you may be putting this person at risk. Get legal advice and protect them and you. Better yet, don’t let a debt collector get a judgment against you.

Protect Your Rights

If you are being harassed by debt collectors and worry about paying your bills, you need to be extra alert to protect your rights. These calls are often a prelude to their suing you. Bankruptcy can sometimes be an option, yet it has very high costs. It’s worth considering defending yourself first. Membership with our site gets you our teleconferences and ecourses for free, plus gives you many other benefits. Click here for more about debt law and how we can help you.