Can SS income be garnished?

[immikeswfe]

What is the name of your state? IL

My 74 yr old mother was served with papers for a Credit Card non payment. Her only income is her 812.00 social security check. She only has one bank account, no pension, no savings. Can they take her money? She is mildly hanicapped, cannot walk very far for very long and I think is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. Can we just ignore the summons?What is the name of your state?

[Kanchazi]

Social Security is exempt, the problem is they take the money and ask quetions later. In others words they take what ever money is in the account, then you have to claim its SS money and then they have to return it. But you have to go thru the process. Unless if someone on this site knows if you can claim exemption before they even take it. As far as ignoring the issue they can get a judgment, and then go after whatever is not exempt.

[Ladynred]

How old is this debt ? Do you know exactly when the last payment was made ?

It is never a good idea to ignore a summons. There are instructions with the subpoena that tell you what must be done next, usually you must file an Answer with the court. The instructions may or may not include info on how to file for exemptions from judgment, which is what you/your mother would have to do to keep her SS money safe.

[BL]

You send or file an answer to whomever She received the summons from .

If from an Attorney , send the an answer preferably RRR Certified mail Stating what you did , and that's her only asset , and is exempt from seizer .

If it's already filed with the Court answer accordingly .

[Betty]

You can't ignore the summons even though SS is exempt from seizure. Your mother would have to file for exemption. As one of the other posters asked, when was the last payment made on this debt? Is this a regular credit card or a store credit card? The SOL may have expired also.