Joint accounts

If two people have a joint account and one of them defaults on a loan, can the joint account be Garnisheed or Attached?

In this particular case it is a divorced couple who maintain a joint account so that there is no delay in receiving child support payments. The former husband has an outstanding collection and the former wife is worried that the joint account will be Attached or Garnisheed.

The husband lives in Oklahoma, the account is in an OK bank
but the wife lives in Texas.

Complicated, isn't it?

f two people have a joint account and one of them defaults on a loan, can the joint account be Garnisheed or Attached?

No. Not even IRS will go after a joint account because if they do, the other party will claim it was their money in the account, not that of the garnished person and they would have to pay it all back.

In this particular case it is a divorced couple who maintain a joint account so that there is no delay in receiving child support payments.

Makes no difference what it's for. Still can't be touched by garnishment.

Complicated, isn't it?

No, not at all.

[email]ceo@creditwrench.com[/email] [url]http://www.creditwrench.com[/url]

bbauer has done it again :-).

sidhe01,

The law views the comingling of funds in a bank ccount like the comingling of water. In most circumstances all of the funds in the account will be subject to a bank levy. I will describe the process in detail.

When your bank is served with the levy they will immediately freeze all of the funds in this account. You will also receive a copy of the notice of levy in the mail. At this time, you have the opportunity to file a "Claim of Exemption" with the court, in order to argue that the funds in the account are yours, not the judgment debtors, and as such should not be subject to the levy. You will have to show the court proof of every deposit made, where te money came from, every withdrawl, who made it and when. In almost all cases the court will find that it is impossible to determine which funds are which and will make the entire account subject to the levy.

Note that the entire time this is being litigated your funds are frozen in the bank. So, unless you wish to go through this ordeal you should immediately get your name off any account that is being shared with the debtor.

Sorry you got such misguided advice from the previous user.

Good luck!


[email]JASON@LEGISLATOR.COM[/email]