In December of 2006 I suffered heart failure and was sent to 3 different hospitals. I was out of work (part time at minimum wage) for a few months, so I tried every avenue, medicaid, hospital charity programs, etc. to pay the bills that eventually lead up to $125,000 plus, but was denied. My husband's sole income is social security disability. Now the hospitals have turned these bills over to their lawyers and they are threatening to put a judgement against our accounts. Can my husband's checking and savings accounts which are strictly social security monies and he has a rep payee on his accounts be frozen?

Hello kathy:

The accounts can be frozen because you haven't told anybody that the funds IN those accounts can't be garnished. Have him remove ALL the dough and tell the SS to send a CHECK instead of direct deposit.

excon

PS> (edited) If you are the only one who has judgments, as opposed to BOTH of you, and the accounts in question are not JOINT accounts, then they should be safe. If these factors are so, disregard the above advice.

Send the debt collector this when they send you a bill, and keep this with you from now on.


Safe from Garnishment



Federal law makes Social Security benefits exempt from levy, garnishment, and assignment- 42 USC 407(a) states. "In general the right of any future payments under this sub chapter SHALL NOT be Transferable or assignable. AND NONE of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this subchapter shall be subject to execution, levey, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law".

This means that even if a creditor or debt attorney, collection agency has a judgement against you they CAN NOT garnish your SS payments nor can they take the money from you after it has been paid to you; for example, the portion of your bank account that is attributable to your SS benefits is EXEMPT from LEVY OR ATTACHMENT

Addendum to above posting: SSD is not exempt from state or federal garnishments: Taxes, child support, etc.