Can a creditor garnish my bank account for my husband's debt?

[Lindsay]

We are definitely filing bankruptcy, but I'm putting it off until February. One of the creditors has already filed a lawsuit (we were served Oct 30). We sent an answer to the court and it was recorded on November 15. So far, we haven't heard anything else. This debt is in my husband's name only, but I am an authorized user. We use my checking account for most of the bills. We each had our own checking account before we got married and never added our names to each others after our marriage. The past two or three years, we have never used the one in my husband's name. I think it has a $20 balance.

I'm wondering if they manage to get a judgement before we file in January or February, can they garnish my bank account for this debt if his name isn't on the checking account? We are in New York so it's not a community property state. I have used my account to write payments to this creditor in the past before we stopped paying them.

Also, does anyone know how long after a judgement is received do they start attaching assets or garnishing wages? Is it immediate or does it usually take a few months?

Thanks so much, without this board, I think I would lose my mind.

[HHM]

Who was named as the defendant in the lawsuit, was it just your husband, or both of you?

As a practical matter, it's unlikely your account would be hit if only your husband is named in the suit. When a creditor goes to garnish a bank account, it is usually based off of the Social Security Number of the defendant...if the bank does not have that SSN tied to any account, then the writ of execution goes unfulfilled.

[newimges]

They can't garnish anything until they receive a judgement. If they do receive a judgement they will have to go to court to get a garnishment or freeze on the account. I am not sure how long that would take.

You should receive a notice of your hearing date since you filed your answer. This could take anywhere from a week to a couple of months depending on how backed up the courts in your district are.

I don't believe they can go after your bank account unless your husband is on it or you are on the original creditor account.

[Lindsay]

Just my husband's name is on the lawsuit papers. My bank account is in my name alone and after we were married, I never added his name. I guess I'm concerned because I use my bank account to pay the household bills, I deposit his paychecks into my account. I didn't know if they would assume that the bank account belonged to him and just garnish that one because I paid them out of it in the past.

[Tallulah]

Just my husband's name is on the lawsuit papers. My bank account is in my name alone and after we were married, I never added his name. I guess I'm concerned because I use my bank account to pay the household bills, I deposit his paychecks into my account. I didn't know if they would assume that the bank account belonged to him and just garnish that one because I paid them out of it in the past.

Only your husband is liable for this cc debt. You are only an authorized user while HE is the primary cardholder. It doesn't matter who pays the bill. They can only go after the original applicant of the cc.