Illegal Garnishing Practices?

What is the name of your state? Washington

I am posting this question on behalf of my parents, again.

3 years ago my mom had emergency gall bladder surgery. Because she was uninsured - couldn't afford it because it would have eaten half of my dad's paycheck each month, with the remained barely paying the mortgage - the hospital and the state knocked $6000 dollars off of her bill, or about half the cost of surgery and other hospital fees. Up until a few months ago she had been paying the minimum they would accept - about $15 a month. With my dad having cancer and them living off of about $300 a month they couldn't afford it anymore.

In October, or there abouts, they started receiving monthly SSD for my dad's terminal cancer and disability because of that. He can't go back to work and mom is home taking care of him. Her hospital bill was turned over for collections and a ruling was made for garnishment of wages. They just received the papers in the mail - by total surprise. It's sad that nobody bothered checking to see what their situation was.

Anyways - they found out today, too, that all the money in their bank account - all of it being from my dad's monthly SSD payment for this month, was wiped out. Another shock. Merry Christmas.

Mom mentioned that some of the papers stated that Social Security Disability is exempt from garnishment - among other similar kinds of income. The fact that this money was my dad's for his disability makes this even more infuriating.

Questions - is it legal for collectors to garnish social security disability - especially when the money was not technically that of the one being garnished?

Was it legal for them to garnish EVERYTHING (about $1300) that dad got from SSD in their bank account? I was always under the assumption that garnishing was only for a percentage - that something had to be left over for people to live off of.

What, if any, are their legal options?

Thanks,

Dawn GoldenEagle

[lady alone]

Look, I'm no expert, but when a judgement is received and a bank account is levied/garnished, the bank merely responds to the court order, directing the removal of the funds, up to and including the amount of the debt. The bank has no way of knowing ( or at least the bank's legal dept) what the money on deposit was, be it SSI or wages, or whatever. They just act in accordance with the order.

Not knowing exemptions are in WA, you will need to look these up and determine whether SSI is "exempt" from levying and file a response before the date the funds are to be turned over and present your case for exemption in the court of legal jurisdiction. You should also check to see whether WA has a "homestead act" that can protect your parents assets. In VA, the homestead act allows a married couple to protect 10,000.00, whether or not they own a home. So check your own state statutes.

Since it is obvious that your parents' situation will likely not improve, I think it would be wise to see if you can find Legal Aid or an Elder Law specialist. I think AARP has a listing and probably your state has a Dept of Human Services, which also might have information that could help your mother.

Be sure you tell SS that you want the check delivered via postal mail and not direct deposit until this issue is cleared up or any funds deposited willl be snatched.

You might also have your mother write a letter to the Pres of the Hospital and cc to the Board of Directors, explaining the situation. The Pres and the Board have the authority to rescind the debt/levy. This letter has to be dispassionate and sincere, with no anger. You must indicate that you will be willing to enter into an agreement and stick with it, if this is still possible.It is likely that before judgement there were calls, and letters from the hospital CA, and perhaps your mother ignored these. I am sure she didn't mean to, but was simply overwhelmed. Silence implies consent, or so the adage goes, so your mother must change the perception that she was unwilling to pay or non-responsive to communications.....

[Ladynred]

There are few exceptions, SS and SSDI is 100% EXEMPT !! If the funds are direct deposted, even better because the proof of the source of the funds is easily verified. Your mother needs file a Motion to Quash ASAP to stop that levy. She also needs to file her exemptions. The Motion to Quash will get her a hearing and she'll need all the proof that the money was 100% SSD. If your parents have a joint account, it matters little who else's name is on the account, they wipe it out. WA is also a community property state, so both are liable for the debt.

Here's a link to WA law help, there are even example forms for you to use:
[url]http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/WA/StateChannelResults.cfm/County/%20/City/%20/demoMode/%3D%201/Language/1/State/WA/TextOnly/N/ZipCode/%20/LoggedIn/0/iSubTopicID/1/iProblemCodeID/1020100/sTopicImage/g%2Dbenefits.gif/iTopicID/859/ichannelid/7/bAllState/0[/url]

There is a document there that tells you how to file for the exemptions, along with lots of other good info.

[stevek3]

Originally Posted by goldeneaglehart

What is the name of your state? Washington

I am posting this question on behalf of my parents, again.

3 years ago my mom had emergency gall bladder surgery. Because she was uninsured - couldn't afford it because it would have eaten half of my dad's paycheck each month, with the remained barely paying the mortgage - the hospital and the state knocked $6000 dollars off of her bill, or about half the cost of surgery and other hospital fees. Up until a few months ago she had been paying the minimum they would accept - about $15 a month. With my dad having cancer and them living off of about $300 a month they couldn't afford it anymore.

In October, or there abouts, they started receiving monthly SSD for my dad's terminal cancer and disability because of that. He can't go back to work and mom is home taking care of him. Her hospital bill was turned over for collections and a ruling was made for garnishment of wages. They just received the papers in the mail - by total surprise. It's sad that nobody bothered checking to see what their situation was.

Anyways - they found out today, too, that all the money in their bank account - all of it being from my dad's monthly SSD payment for this month, was wiped out. Another shock. Merry Christmas.

Mom mentioned that some of the papers stated that Social Security Disability is exempt from garnishment - among other similar kinds of income. The fact that this money was my dad's for his disability makes this even more infuriating.

Questions - is it legal for collectors to garnish social security disability - especially when the money was not technically that of the one being garnished?

Was it legal for them to garnish EVERYTHING (about $1300) that dad got from SSD in their bank account? I was always under the assumption that garnishing was only for a percentage - that something had to be left over for people to live off of.

What, if any, are their legal options?

Thanks,

Dawn GoldenEagle

Here's a government link for the appropriate exemption form...I presume they already received a copy of it and that's what they were reading from. Regardless, bring it to them to fill out, and hand-deliver it to the clerk of courts for filing first thing tomorrow. Have them complete all other required forms received in the envelope, as well. Hopefully it's not already too late. It doesn't sound like it is. First thing tomorrow, they should also contact the creditor's attorney and explain the same. This will speed up the process, and an exemption hearing may not be necessary. Obviously, the attorney's office will require them to provide a paper trail to prove where all of the money in the accounts originated. Make sure they get all their information together before they call.
[url]http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/?fa=forms.formdisp&filename=GARN01_0500&category_list=28[/url]