Joint bank account frozen due to judgment against me, money in account is not mine

[starz]

What is the name of your state? New York
I have not worked in over a year due to birth of daughter. I have a joint account with husband and money is from his income yet it is frozen. How does he object the levy? Supposedly I was served with a Summons to appear in court for this lawsuit but I never received it. Can I appeal this? I do not plan on returning to work any time in the future and have no assets for the creditor to come after. Debt was incurred from a credit card and was charged off 12/00. Account frozen by collection agency. Please help

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by starz
What is the name of your state? New York
I have not worked in over a year due to birth of daughter. I have a joint account with husband and money is from his income yet it is frozen. How does he object the levy? Supposedly I was served with a Summons to appear in court for this lawsuit but I never received it. Can I appeal this? I do not plan on returning to work any time in the future and have no assets for the creditor to come after. Debt was incurred from a credit card and was charged off 12/00. Account frozen by collection agency. Please help

**A: he can object all he wants. The bank has every right to freeze funds in your joint account with your name on it.

[JETX]

"How does he object the levy?"
*** The process of challenging the levy or garnishment is noted on the papers that you received.

"Supposedly I was served with a Summons to appear in court for this lawsuit but I never received it. Can I appeal this?"
*** You cannot appeal as the time for hearing your appeal as very likely passed. However, you could file a motion to vacate if you can show that you were not served with notice of the lawsuit as required by law. Contact the court and ask to see the 'notice of service'.

[starz]

Thanks for the advice. I looked at the paper I received from the bank stating that they received the restraint on the account but it does not list the process for appealing the levy. This is the only paperwork I have received regarding this matter. It says to contact the attorneys representing the creditor. When I contacted them they stated that if I sent regular payments it would only come off the balance due and that the levy on the account would not be released until the debt was satisfied in full. They also stated that interest would continue to accrue and that if I did decide to return to work that my wages would be garnished as well until the debt was satisfied. Does this sound correct? I am in no financial situation to pay it off entirely even at a discounted rate living on only one income. Does anyone have any other information as to how I would go about challenging the levy as a normal proceeding?

[JETX]

Okay, I have done some research into this process in New York and you have not described it properly. It is NOT a levy, it is a restraining notice. Simply, the judgment creditor asks the court to issue a restraining order to your bank instructing them to freeze the funds. Upon receipt, they will freeze up to twice the amount that you owe your creditor for up to one year. The bank will withdraw the balance in your account (and it will continue to withdraw future deposits) until the judgment is either paid or vacated.

Since you feel that the funds in the account are exempt, you should do the following:
First, call your bank and ask to speak with someone in the Legal Processing department. Explain your situation to this person and that the funds are 100% from your husband and not from you Take down the person's full name and record the date of the conversation.

Second, on the restraining notice, there should be a law firm listed for you to contact if you have questions. Call this firm and again, explain the situation to them. Take down the full name of the person you speak to and record the date of the conversation.

Finally, if both of those fail, you may very well have to either wait for the execution (and you can claim exemption at that point) or contact a local attorney to see what additional action you may have.