Tax refund question

[toomuch]

If creditors know we are due to receive refunds from the IRS, and I haven't filed for BK yet, can they get their hands on the refund??

Thanks,

Too Much

[HHM]

You give creditors too much credit.

For an unsecured creditor to actually take anything from you, they have to sue you first and get a judgment. To enforce that judgment, they have to know where you are, where you bank, etc. Generally speaking, creditors cannot "garnish" the IRS directly (at least, I have never heard of it being done).

There are a few exceptions
IRS...if you owe the IRS, which is an unsecured creditor, they can levy property and garnish wadges without suing first.

Credit Unions...if you bank with a credit union and have a credit card through that credit union, they can "sometimes" garnish your bank account if you miss payments. Credit Unions employ what is known as cross collateralization...which means any asset you have with the Credit Union, acts as security for any debt you have with the credit union.

The fact of the matter is, credit companies don't sue too frequently (notable exceptions, Discover Card and MBNA).