Stop Bill Collectors!

When you don’t pay your bills on time, don’t respond to the calls from the collection agencies, and live under cover, you could wake up one day to find your bank account temporarily frozen from a bank account garnishment. That will be a bad day if it’s the day your rent or mortgage is due! You may have missed the judgment notices in the mail (or maybe you moved). You may not even know your creditors went in to court and sued you. You have no idea they got a judgment against you and used it to empty your account. When the creditor follows legal procedures, your account may not be garnished immediately. Instead it might be temporarily frozen.
(more…)

Garnishing your bank account is the final step that a creditor would try against you to recover a debt. In the process of bank account garnishment, the creditor has to obtain a legal order from the court to freeze your bank account and take away your money to satisfy a judgment. Unlike laws that protect your wages, there are no laws to protect your bank account: creditors can take all the money in your account if they have the right forms from the court.
(more…)

When you declare bankruptcy, or are facing a judgment, this does not mean that you will lose all of your assets or personal property. There are exemption laws that prevent this from happening, allowing you to hold on to certain property, savings and insurance, as well as some types of investment. If you want to know your Oregon homestead exemption, this article explains it in plain English and includes all of your exemptions.
(more…)

When filing for bankruptcy, or fighting a judgment, it’s important to understand what property and assets you can protect, as well as any earnings, savings and insurance you are entitle to claim as exempt. Declaring bankruptcy or being sued by a creditor doesn’t automatically mean that you will lose everything you have, but familiarizing yourself with the exemption laws for your state can ensure that you hang on to everything you are legally entitled to. If you want to know your Pennsylvania homestead exemption, this article explains it in plain English and includes all of your exemptions.
(more…)

Your biggest single concern if you are filing for bankruptcy or if you are on the receiving end of a judgment is making sure that you protect as many of your assets and items of personal property as you are legally entitled to. While US bankruptcy laws do not require all assets and property to be relinquished to pay off outstanding debt (the same goes for judgments), there are restrictions and limitations on what you can claim exemption for and the percentage you can claim. If you want to know your Rhode Island homestead exemption, this article explains it in plain English and includes all of your exemptions.
(more…)

Can debt collectors freeze your bank account ? Yes, and no. A frozen bank account is a checking or savings account you can’t use because a creditor has placed a restraint on the account. You can place money in a frozen bank account, but you won’t be able to take money out. If you wake up one day to the shock of finding your bank account is frozen, you may be able to unfreeze it if your creditor hasn’t followed the law.
(more…)

One question I’m asked via email the most is can you go to jail for not paying taxes ? Put simply — yes, in certain situations. State and Federal Laws can be filed to bring criminal charges against you if you don’t pay income taxes.
(more…)

If you’re a judgment debtor — meaning that you have a judgment against you from a creditor — any joint account you own can be garnished.
(more…)

Protecting your assets, personal property, wages and savings is most important when filing for bankruptcy. In general, US bankruptcy laws do not require you to sell everything you own to cover your debts. However, what you can and cannot claim does depend on the state you live in. This article will help to familiarise you with the state exemptions for South Dakota, including the homestead exemption.
(more…)

If you are considering filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in the state of Tennessee, or if you are being sued by creditors (perhaps you already have a judgment against you), you will need to familiarise yourself with the state exemptions, particularly the homestead exemption Tennessee. Bankruptcy exemptions are state laws that distinguish your property as “off limits” to unsecured creditors. This means that these types of creditors cannot force you to sell your property to cover debts.
(more…)