judgement and protecting bank account

[rbaker66]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? california
Hi I agreed to pay an attorney $82 a month over a credit card bill. The amount agreed on the phone was for 3 years and I have been paying for over two years. today i received some mail with some court papers saying the agreement was for 4 years. Anyway I am not going to pay them unless I get this straightened out. If worse comes about and the attorney sues me how do I protect my bank account if a judgement is issued against me? all money going into account is va disability and spousal support I receive. I believe both are creditor safe but how do I go about getting this enforced before this attorney grabs my money. I don't want to fight a long expensive legal battle to get the money back. thanks for any help on this

[annajosie]

If the creditor gets a judgement on you, they can come after your assets.
Find out what your exemptions are in your state and be prepared to assert these exemptions.

If you are concerned about the creditor freezing your bank account, keep your money out of your account. Even if the money is considered exempt, a judgement creditor can still freeze your accounts. Then you have to prove that all the monies were from an exempt source.

[Stevef]

Originally Posted by rbaker66

Hi I agreed to pay an attorney $82 a month over a credit card bill. The amount agreed on the phone was for 3 years and I have been paying for over two years. today i received some mail with some court papers saying the agreement was for 4 years. Anyway I am not going to pay them unless I get this straightened out.

You do not have a valid reason to stop paying now. You agreed to pay for three years, and have almost a year to straighten it out.

[JETX]

Originally Posted by rbaker66

If worse comes about and the attorney sues me how do I protect my bank account if a judgement is issued against me?

No RESPONSIBLE member of this forum is going to help you to defraud or avoid a valid debt/judgment. That is NOT the intent of this forum.

[Zigner]

Just pay your bill in full now...then you don't have to worry about it!

[Bosco]

Originally Posted by rbaker66

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? california
Hi I agreed to pay an attorney $82 a month over a credit card bill. The amount agreed on the phone was for 3 years and I have been paying for over two years. today i received some mail with some court papers saying the agreement was for 4 years. Anyway I am not going to pay them unless I get this straightened out. If worse comes about and the attorney sues me how do I protect my bank account if a judgement is issued against me? all money going into account is va disability and spousal support I receive. I believe both are creditor safe but how do I go about getting this enforced before this attorney grabs my money. I don't want to fight a long expensive legal battle to get the money back. thanks for any help on this

This doesn't make sense. How could they argue that the agreement was for 4 years if it was only for 3?

$82 X 36 months = $2952
$82 X 48 months = $3936

That's a $984 difference. If you could produce the dunning letters or any other proof that the amount owed was $2952 (or thereabouts) you could easily show that the math doesn't work out.

Secondly, why are they sending you court papers if you've been making the payments?

Something stinks to high heaven here, and I'm willing to bet it's the attorney trying to put one over on you. You need to start digging through any documentation you have and see if you have proof of the agreement and/or a dunning letter for the amount owed. If you can provide proof that he's trying to get another year's payment out of you for nothing, he's in a world of hurt. If it does get to court, you can fight him there by making him provide complete accounting, but hopefully it won't get that far.

As far as protecting your assets, there are lawyers who specialize in that field and you might consider talking to them. Your disability and spousal support should be safe from garnishment as well.

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by Bosco

This doesn't make sense. How could they argue that the agreement was for 4 years if it was only for 3?

Off the top of my head, I'd say interest and costs. I'd also say I doubt the OPs memory as related to us is 100 percent accurate.

DC