Summons for husband and for his mom?

[smplctylst]

My husband lost his job in the early spring, long story short, we also owned a personal business and he wasn't allowed to collect unemployment, even though the business is in the hole also. Anyway, the cc's which were years old, defaulted, we had no choice. the balances were relatively low. 1000 was the most. Well, a collection agency (law firm) called and started threatening to come and take everything down to our pots and pans. So I went to a bankruptcy lawyer (we are pretty close to out of options and he agreed) well my husband answered the next time they called, and told them he needed everything in writing and the next communications they will recieve would be from his lawyer. (on our side, we tried to offer payments, but they wanted the whole debt plus thier fees, which doubled the debt) They said if we didnt' give them our checking information, they would get it anyway, well we didn't.

Today, my husband gets a call from his mom who has also been served for the debt. She was NOT on the card, never was. He hasn't lived at home for 14 years, and the address on the credit card was ours not hers.

We are filing bk. But we are making payments to get to the $500 retainer, let alone the other 1000 needed to file. Anyway...obviously we are going to have a judgement, but are they going to take his moms money?

[allavdj]

I would take a look at what she was "served" with. It very well may be more smoke from the collection agency trying to rattle your cage so you will pay them. Also, call the courthouse and ask them if anything is in the system under yours or your moms name regarding a summons. If not, you're dealing with true scum that your lawyer needs to deal with. If these guys are willing to stoop to this level, be careful with them and don't provoke them, God knows what sorts of things they'll try to pull.

A couple things things to remember:

-They can't take anything from you unless it was used as collateral on a secured debt (ie: car)

-They most certainly can't come in and take your pots and pans or whatever they feel like

-They can't get a judgment against your mom if she has nothing to do with the debt

-They can't legally take money from your checking account without a judgement. If they do somehow get the info and take money, you need to call the police and your lawyer.

Good luck, sounds like you got a real doosy

[smplctylst]

apparently it was the sherriff that left a message to serve her, when she called the number it said that she had a summons for her regarding her sons debt. He is on one of her checking accounts, I guess in the event of her death all 3 of her sons have a joint checking with her, so that all her assets don't get frozen. don't quite understand it. Anyway, he wasn't served, no sherriff has called him, or come by the house. So why would they only serve her? At least that's what it looks like right now.

This is for $1100, with thier fees, I think that last balance on the card was 600.

[staceymd]

I can relate!!

I have just gotten to the point where I can no longer pay my credit card bills. My mom who lives with me has a joint checking account, CDs,credit cards and bank accout in both of our names. Will they go after her if it was all MY FAULT? Any advise would so be appreciated. staceymd

[magyar123]

Immediately, or ASAP close the joint bank accounts at your current bank, and go to a different bank - and each of you open separate accounts. Your CDs may have to stay with the old bank until they mature. Are the credit cards joint or is your mom just an authorized user?

[CompTweaker]

My husband lost his job in the early spring, long story short, we also owned a personal business and he wasn't allowed to collect unemployment, even though the business is in the hole also. Anyway, the cc's which were years old, defaulted, we had no choice. the balances were relatively low. 1000 was the most. Well, a collection agency (law firm) called and started threatening to come and take everything down to our pots and pans. So I went to a bankruptcy lawyer (we are pretty close to out of options and he agreed) well my husband answered the next time they called, and told them he needed everything in writing and the next communications they will recieve would be from his lawyer. (on our side, we tried to offer payments, but they wanted the whole debt plus thier fees, which doubled the debt) They said if we didnt' give them our checking information, they would get it anyway, well we didn't.

Today, my husband gets a call from his mom who has also been served for the debt. She was NOT on the card, never was. He hasn't lived at home for 14 years, and the address on the credit card was ours not hers.

We are filing bk. But we are making payments to get to the $500 retainer, let alone the other 1000 needed to file. Anyway...obviously we are going to have a judgement, but are they going to take his moms money?

What they are doing is violating the FDCPA and you should file a lawsuit against them. And dont close any checking accounts yet, they have to sue you, win, and get a judgement before they can legally touch your account. Start recording the calls and look for information on filing a lawsuit against them. They have to prove you own the debt, that they legally have the right to collect the debt, and if it is past the statute of limitations to collect for in your state, then theres another FDCPA violation. Answer the summons, and counterclaim their dumb*sses. They will drop the claim against you and try to negotiate a settlement with you.....the balls in your court now and you have plenty of ammo to throw at them.

[CompTweaker]

And what I meant by negotiate is they will be contacting you and negotiating with you to either pay you money to drop your claim while dismissing their lawsuit against you, (that is if it is past the SOL and/or they have no legal standing to maintain their action), or if it isnt past the SOL and they CAN PROVE you owe the debt and they own the right to collect it, then you still have an FDCPA violation that you can claim, and that is a $1000 fine in your favor. So they would probably try to dismiss as long as you agree to dismiss, since the charges = about the same for either party. But be sure you get it in writing and that it is "dimissed with prejudice".

The majority of these lawsuits filed by JDB's are worthless! You just need to know how to fight against them and either hire a lawyer or go pro se while doing it. They love nothing more than paying that filing fee and watching as the summons/complaint doesnt get answered and falls into a default judgement! Easy pickings for them and more heartache for the uninformed.

I am not a lawyer and I am in no way offering a legal service. I am only speaking opinions from my own experience in my State. All States have their own rules of procedure.

[jribe]

Immediately, or ASAP close the joint bank accounts at your current bank, and go to a different bank - and each of you open separate accounts. Your CDs may have to stay with the old bank until they mature. Are the credit cards joint or is your mom just an authorized user?

there is no reason to move to a different bank. If the joint accounts are still open *the bank* has the right (in most cases) to take money to pay off a balance owed by a joint account holder (if the joint account holder has a charged off debt owed by them at that bank). Otherwise, the bank will do nothing! They will under no circumstances let your mom's sole owned account be garnished because of a child's debt. I work for a major bank, banks have to be served to do anything also. What i am saying is that there is no reason to switch banks- it's just more of a hassle for the mom- and once they are sole owned, she has nothing to worry about. Also, speak to the lawyer about closing your joint account- you don't want to have any issues with that. And as a side note- that is the exact reason why we say to *never* but someone on your account "just in case"; that is what the "beneficiary" designation is for. As far as the bank is concerned, if it's a joint account, and they have no say as to who the orginal "owner" is. Either person can close the account, liquidate it, etc. Sorry for the rambling- but we see it all too often. Please just put bene's on accounts, not joint owners...

[Genenco]

I completely agree with the removal of a person from the "joint" ownership. I too had to be removed from my mothers account when I spoke with a banker in regards to defaults of cc's. She said "The CC companies will look for ANY connection you have to anyones checking/savings account and if they find it, then the entire account can be taken to satisfy their demand. If you HAVE to be on an account, then be a beneficary, not a co-owner"

[jribe]

Well its nice to know you work for a bank, and you even said it, "...banks have to be served to do anything also.". But cross collateralization clauses along with joint accounts can wipe out several people for one persons debt. In addition unless you close your own account that was held with another as a joint account then that account can be seized in a garnishment of a judgment.

I am not sure who you are trying to protect here? But, if a debtor remains on a joint account then that account can be seized for garnishment. Even if the joint debtor is removed at some point so long as the plaintiff has an account number they will and are often successful in seizing an account of an relative. Even when those funds are held by the sheriff many people that are elderly or poor lose any money they have and are STUCK PAYING HUGE FEE'S TO THE BANK TO EFFECT THE SEIZURE. Those fees can cost from $100-$200 or more.

So the bottom line is this, anyone who has/had a joint account with anyone who is in collections or being sued, you should immediately close those accounts and yes even move it to another bank at least the interim.

I know some will disagree, but even bank make mistakes and take money from accounts for the wrong person or what used to be a joint account etc. Some people like those on SS or SSDI that is the only money they have and it being tied up for weeks can be detrimental to them. Its just a lot safer to move it to another financial institution than put up with the problems.

IMOP.

Sure. I said that the joint accounts should be closed, or at least consult with an attorney. But if the mother has a sole owned account at that bank, they *cannot* get the money. It is hers only, the bank won't let anyone take funds from the account without authority to do so. Their responsibility lies with the customer. I'm trying to protect the mother, i'm not sure what you meant by that comment? I've worked in banking for 5 years and know how the systems work. Companies can surely "try" and get a judgement against the mother- but if that happens- it will not matter what bank she is at, if the company can garnish- they will garnish anywhere. I'm saying that the banks responsibility lies with its customer, and they will not release funds unless there is a court order to do so. And any reputable bank does not tie up a customers funds for weeks due to an error like you mentioned. My bank takes care of a problem like you mentioned in 24 hours, we even give the customer provisional credit if it's needed.

[allavdj]

Well I can tell you don't work for BoA, WAMU or Key Bank then....if you want I am sure the horror stories of wrong accounts being seized and held will roll in shortly...LOL, not to mention the fees people get charged. You know its just like SS, SSDI or SSI is not supposed to be garnished either but it happens all the time. Lets say a relative makes a payment on your behalf then the collection agency gets a judgment against you and goes after the account that was used to make a payment on your delinquent account since they have the name and account number of someone they know made payment for you. Do they get to keep the funds? No. But what happens when the court order of garnishment is sent to the bank? You seize the funds...you did what your supposed to do. They (the owner of the account) get to go into court and fight to get them back. In the mean time the money sits unavailable to you. Did the bank do anything wrong? No, but thats not the banks problem.

So the point is, move your money to another bank to be sure anyone who could have had the account number no longer has access to those funds.

I'm going with BigBoy here on this one. Banks screw up all the time and don't for one second believe that they are going to do what's in your best interest. Remember these are regular people we are talking about, they don't want to get pestered about garnishments so the easiest thing to do is go along with whatever the person asking for money says and release funds. If it causes them a problem, they can deal with that later...or likely somebody else is some other department will have to deal with it.

Play it safe, change banks, and get a new account. Better yet, skip the account...then they can't seize it!

[GoingDown]

This is one where your mom definitely needs to fight this lawsuit in court. File a written answer stating that she never co-signed for any of this debt and is not responsible and then make a motion for discovery demanding to see the signed credit card application to see who signed for it.

[floridian]

im defaulting on my mortgage at bank X.....i closed my checking account at that bank...
my mom has her checking account at the same bank and im an authorized signer on her account, in case shes sick....
do i need to remove my signature card from her account?

[jribe]

YES. The bank doesn't know who the owner on an account is if there is more than one. Everyone is "joint" meaning that everyone has the same authority over the money. Unless it is specifically listed as "power of attorney" or you are just a beneficiary. It doesn't matter if your mom is primary and you are secondary. Please get off the account as soon as you can. If you read the fine print in the loan- it will say that the bank has the right to take funds from an owners account to satisfy any unpaid balances owed. I work for a major bank, FYI.
good luck