Old Sick +Alone Make Them Go Away!

[zstudprod]

What is the name of your state? OHIO
I am a 55 year old sickly widowed disabled person whos only source of income is SSD.It is auto deposited into my checking account each month.That is the only money in there and it barely pays the bills.I have A Condo here in Ohio which is paid in full.Ive got it Homesteaded to reduce my Taxs.I paid 46,000 for it in 95.It is now worth about 76,000.Yesterday the mailman rang my bell and I signed for a certified letter from The Courthouse. It came to me in my maiden name. It was from an Attorney Representing A credit Card company who was originally First Usa and than it looks like it was bought out by another credit card company and than sent over to this Attorney for collection.It said I have 28 days to respond or a judgement will go against me and they could take my home,my car ( which is 10 years old) or personal assets. It original amount is around 4,000 .But with interest ect it is now around 7,000. Ok I than did something real stupid which I now regret.First off, I signed for it in unledgeable chicken scratch. I than took the letter and the original envelope in came in and put it in another envelope with a yellow sticky inside which read" Sorry,Mailman left by mistake," No such person in this Apt Building" and mailed it back to the courthouse.I figure the sherriff will be out to deliver it next but I just wont answer the door.I realize that with or without me they will get their judgement as I am in default and have no defence nor any money to pay.My Questions are as follows:

1- Can they force the sale of myOhio homesteaded Condo or must they wait for me to sell it to retrive their money?
2- If they cease my checking account how much will it cost me and how to I go about proveing that all moneys in there is SSD and by law they must return it.
3- Would it be wise for me to call SSD right away and stop auto deposit and have them mail me the check from now on.
4- What is the likelyhood of them getting a judgement and than not enforceing it.Just letting it lay on the books at the credit bureau?
5- Would it be wise for me to run to the Post Office and change any mail that comes in my maiden name to a friend in Texas to stray them from looking in Ohio?
6- My Condo is titled in my married name.Can they still attach it if the judgement is in my maiden name?Also my checking account is in married name.Same question applys
7.I still have a Texas drivers licence.( Lived there for 25 years) Ya think maybe that will stray them more towards Looking for assetts in Texas rather than Ohio?( My car is registerd with Ohio Plates
8-What are the chances Ill be a bag lady on the street in a few months by the time their done with me?
I would just change both my married and maiden name mail to Texas but Im waiting on a letter from Social Security and Im up for review.Cant afford to lose that.
Im sure this post makes me look like a scammer**************But I only have about 3 years to live and I want some peace an quiet for these last few years.Im Tired**************.....+ Broke . Any and ALL advice please Rush!

[inspiringmind]

Originally Posted by zstudprod

What is the name of your state? OHIO
I am a 55 year old sickly widowed disabled person whos only source of income is SSD.
3- Would it be wise for me to call SSD right away and stop auto deposit and have them mail me the check from now on.
4- What is the likelyhood of them getting a judgement and than not enforceing it.Just letting it lay on the books at the credit bureau?
5- Would it be wise for me to run to the Post Office and change any mail that comes in my maiden name to a friend in Texas to stray them from looking in Ohio?

These questions are the only ones I can answer with any kind of certainty.

#3 - NO. If you get an SSD check by mail and then deposit it you can not prove that it came from Social Security. If it is direct deposited then you can prove it easily.

#4 - I don't know the laws for property (house exemtions) in Ohio, but you might be judgement proof. Meaning they could get a judgement and it woudl just sit there cause they can't collect from you. What you should have done though is signed the summons...not returned it. Go to the court hearing and explain to the judge what you get and what you have. Now there is a chance that they will get a default judgement from you and you will find your checking account frozen and having to go through showing them that it is SS income.

#5 - It won't make a difference in them getting a judement against you. They already know you own a condo in Ohio. It coming u suddenly that you moved to Texas wil look funny to them, and they can just look up the condo info and find out that you still own it.

Mary

[Chien]

The "returning process" tact is likely to gain you little or nothing. My expectation is that you've already done enough by signing for the mail that the creditor can argue that service has been perfected. If so, and you continue to return mail unopened or forward it, you may not know what's happening in your case.

What is the likelyhood of them getting a judgement and than not enforceing it.Just letting it lay on the books at the credit bureau?

That may be the central question, because the rest of your questions are concerned with avoiding enforcement. The fact is that, if they are persistent enough, they will track you down, they will link married and maiden names on the judgment, they will search wherever assets might be found and they will initiate enforcement. If they don't know of a reason not to, why not?

SSD and SS, when you get it, are going to be exempt, but that won't stop a bank levy, and then you have to prove the source of the funds before you can get at them. Homestead protection in Ohio offers only minimal protection ($5,000) for your condo, but I think what they do about the condo and car depends on what's cost-effective for the creditor. If it costs as much to get at your equity as the creditor can recover, why do it?

If all of your assets are exempt or *protected* because of the economics of pursuing them, why not let the creditor know? You know best if that's really true. If it is, why not offer financial disclosures before they're trying to enforce everytime you turn around? It will cost them money to fail, and those costs will be added to the judgment. An Ohio judgment is good for 21 years, if it's renewed every 5. You may get other opinions, but my advice would be to cooperate and show them that you're judgment-proof. Candidly, you sound less capable of constantly fighting them.

[Ladynred]

She's not 'judgment-proof' she has assets - the condo is paid for, 100% equity.

That being said, its unlikely they'll try to force the sale of the condo for just 4,000. I'd be surprised if they'd go that far - it costs them money. More than likely they'll just place a lien on the condo. Since your income is exempt, and you can probably exempt the rest of your personal property assets, there's nothing for them to get from you. They'll get paid for the lien from your estate should you pass on.

All your other thoughts on tactics, as menitoned by Chien, are basically pointless. If you REALLY want to protect yourself, move back to TX ! Its unlikely you'll be a bag lady. Even IF they went as far as forcing the sale of your condo, they only get to keep what they're owed, the rest goes back to you and you could probably survive on that money for a while.

Either way, they're going to win the judgment. Returning the summons doesn't stop anything, they can publish a notice in the paper and that would constitute proper service and they'd still get their judgment.

Leave your direct deposit alone, its the proof you need to show that the money IS from an exempt source. You WILL have to file your exemptions to protect that bank account, but if you wait until AFTER they win and go for a bank levy, you may find your bank account wiped out one day and have to go thru a lengthy process to get the money returned. ON top of that, your bank will probably charge you a fee for the levy - some charge $50 or more !

I'd agree with Chien, stop trying to dodge them and CALL the attorney. Remember -- keep your friends close -and your enemies CLOSER !