Can Creditor, armed w/ Judgment, razoo funds from Debtor's checking account?

[AmosMoses]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana

Can any creditor in Louisiana, after having received a judgment, take that judgment to the debtor's bank and deduct funds from a debtor's checking account? This question stems from a situation wherein a cousin of mine went to the drive-thru of a local bank to handle some bit of business, only to be told that "the account had been closed". He sat there and argued with the teller for a good five minutes, ranting that the account had NOT been closed, until finally, at my prodding, going into the bank to see what was what. The teller inside said that the account had been closed because "the exact amount of money in the account had been deducted, resulting in an automatic closure of the account", stating further that "if one cent had been left in the bank, or had a negative balance been left in, anywhere from a negative balance of one cent on up, that the account would still be open". Well, all this served to do was to make my cousin change his rant to "Well, I didn't deduct all the money from my account, so it's NOT CLOSED!"

Turns out that he had had a tax lien for quite some time, no telling how long, and the government simply came in and razooed all of his money from his account. (I assume "tax lien" is the correct term...some federal income tax documentation evidently giving the government to right to snatch that money right out of his account).

Now, I know for a fact that happened, because I was sitting right there by him through all of this, but I have no idea if that same sort of thing can happen with a "regular" judgment. I assumed that if someone held a judgment against a debtor here in Louisiana, that the same thing could happen, and that the creditor could, armed with that judgment, approach the bank and remove funds from the debtor's account, removing funds up to the amount to satisfy the judgment, that is. I started thinking, though, that I may have given someone the wrong information, however, and that maybe this happened to my cousin because the debt involved federal taxes.

So, can a creditor use a "simple" judgment to deduct funds from a debtir's checking account, or must something else be used for the debtor to to accomplish that, say maybe getting a further order from the court directing the bank to surrender the funds?

Oh, and for the purposes of this query, there is no bankruptcy involved.

Thanks!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[racer72]

The creditor had to wait 30 days after receiving the judgment then file for a writ of garnishment. With this in hand, the bank account could be cleaned out. Like lots of folks, I would bet your cousin knew he was being sued but ignored the summons hoping the whole thing would just go away. It never does.

[Antigone*of*Greece]

If the judgement creditor is "razooing money, then what do you call it when the judgement debtor refuses to pay?

One thing in your post seems very strange to me. A checking account is not normally closed if it reaches a $0 balance. Normally the account remains open on a $0 balance for some time (anywhere from 30-120 days). There must be another reason as to why the account was actually closed. Could it be the accountholder was undesirable and the bank siezed an opportunity to say good-bye... hum I guess we'll never know.

[AmosMoses]

Thanks!

racer72-
Oh, yes he knew! I didn't know about it until then because I happened to be with him at the drive through, but he knew that the IRS wanted some money! I kind if wanted to laugh because he was so pi$$ed, but I didn't because the old boy had cancer and was just starting to go down pretty bad.


wirelessany1-
Actually, I had never heard of that either, but I was sitting in the bank with him when that was told to him, so it was definitely news to me. Now, I recall closing out a checking account a couple years ago, and they had me write a check for the exact balance, but, that was under my instruction to close it, and I assumed (and still do) that that was simply the mechanism used to empty the account. However, I actually asked the teller that day, and she flat told me that if you ever hit a zero balance, the account closed. Keep a penny or more, or overdraw a penny or more, and it's no problem. Hit zero, and it closes.

Odd, I know, it seems that way to me, too. I can definitely attest to that. The bank in question was First Guaranty Bank in Kentwood, Louisiana.

Thanks again, guys. I sincerely appreciate your taking the time and effort to answer me, and so quickly, too!!

[AmosMoses]

"If the judgement creditor is "razooing money, then what do you call it when the judgement debtor refuses to pay?"

Being a deadbeat.