Debtors worry about how their creditors are able to discover where they maintain financial accounts. How can your creditors discover your accounts given today’s strict privacy laws? Continue reading
An prior year’s asst protection client called to complain that one of his judgment creditors had scheduled a deposition in aid of execution (collection) for the second time in two years. The client asked whether the creditor can depose him a second time. Continue reading
A key to collection procedure is a relatively unknown Florida statute called the Proceedings Supplementary statute. This statute give judgment creditors broadly defined equitable tools to collect unpaid civil judgments. The statute is the procedural basis of creditor actions for fraudulent transfers, injunctions and piercing the corporate veil. Continue reading
Here’s an interesting question about bank garnishments submitted by a Florida attorney. He wants to know whether a judgment creditor can garnish a bank account or other debt where the debtor is subject to a priority lien such as an IRS lien. Continue reading
One of my clients has a securities account at a national stock brokerage company with about $300,000 of liquid, marketable securities. The client borrowed about $230,000 from the brokerage company “on margin” so that the loan is secured by the stocks in the account. The client has a judgment against him for over $1,000,000.
A creditor gets a charging lien against distributions from a limited partnership to the debtor limited partner. The partnership makes little or no distributions during the debtor’s lifetime. The debtor dies leaving his partnership interest to his children. What happens to the charging lien?
A debtor whose wages have been garnished may file a response with the court claiming that he is exempt from wage garnishment because he is head of household. The creditor may then file a response to the claimed exemption with an affidavit stating the grounds upon which the debtor’s exemption is contested. Continue reading
The exemption from wage garnishments for debtor’s who are head of household is not absolute. The wage garnishment exemption statute provides that a debtor can waive his head of household exemption in writing. A creditor may insert in a promissory note, credit agreement, or mortgage note a provision that the debtor waives the wage exemption from execution in the event a creditor gets a judgment for amounts due under the note or credit agreement.
Creative creditors and their attorneys are looking for ways to get around debtor’s unlimited Florida homestead protection. There are exceptions to unlimited homestead protection.
Sometimes I get calls from people anticipating judgments who ask me how to protect against creditor garnishment of cash in their bank accounts. In many cases I have advised them to use new banks located in states outside of Florida.