My mother and I have a joint account. The only funds that are hers in this account are a SS check and pension check, other than that the funds are mine. My paycheck etc. A lien has been placed on this account due to an old account she may have had. (not too sure). I spoke with the firm and they asked that I fax them statements proving this which I did. Now I cannot get them to return my calls. In the meantime the account is frozen and checks are written against the account. What can I do about removing this lien, ASAP?

What you may still be able to do is notify all government offices to not deposit SS and pension. If your mom can still do this, fine, but if you have power of attorney maybe you should initiate this as soon as possible. The point is, yes, they can take the money once it is deposited. It doesn't make any different what you fax them or what you say to them or they you. They just want the money and will not negotiate.

You can't remove the lien, they have a court ordered judgment, but they can't get the money if it isn't in the account.

Thanks for you response, but no they CANNOT take any government or retirment funds. I have check and verified this fact. They also cannot hold MY funds to pay off her debt.

B ut your bank account is frozen now hildie. The money in the account is all the same once it is deposited.

Stop the payments from being direct deposited and have them mailed to the home.

Tickle the debt belongs to my mother not me. They Cannot use my funds to pay off her debt. Her deposits are clearly mark SS and pension. I have verified all this and what they have done is illegal.

Sorry but this is not illegal. As long as mom is a joint owner on the account then the whole account can be attached.

It then becomes your responsibility to prove that the only amounts deposited by mom are protected income. The mistake you made is expecting the creditor to care. What you need to do is go back to the court that issued the writ of atachment and ask motion that the court quash it on the grounds that the only funds of your mother's are protected. You need to submit your proofs to the court.

Ok, here is the problem, the court does not know where this money in the account comes from, so you have to go to court and prove that her money is her Social Security, and then you have to prove what money is yours, from bank deposits, matching up with chedks and so on.

It will remain frozen till you get all the evidence and present it to the court to ask the freeze to be lifted from your money and any social security money.

Fr Chuck I have done this. I have sent them statement clearly showing the checks are SS and pension for my mom and the others are MY paycheck. They even stated that once this is established the lien will be removed. The problem is now they will not take my calls now.

Sorry but this is not illegal. As long as mom is a joint owner on the account then the whole account can be attached.

It then becomes your responsibility to prove that the only amounts deposited by mom are protected income. The mistake you made is expecting the creditor to care. What you need to do is go back to the court that issued the writ of atachment and ask motion that the court quash it on the grounds that the only funds of your mother's are protected. You need to submit your proofs to the court.

I know for a FACT that I cannot be held responsible for her debt. I have also verified that her SS and pension funds cannot be used.

Fr Chuck I have done this. I have sent them statement clearly showing the checks are SS and pension for my mom and the others are MY paycheck. They even stated that once this is established the lien will be removed. The problem is now they will not take my calls now.

You aren't listening. You have not done what Chuck and I said. You provided proof to the PLAINTFF, not the court. Of course they are going to string you along. You have to file a motion with the COURT to quash the writ of attachment. You have to then present your proof to a JUDGE who will rule on whether the writ is valid or not.

The plaintiff is not going to do this for you, that's not in their interest.


I know for a FACT that I cannot be held responsible for her debt. I have also verified that her SS and pension funds cannot be used.

Again, the plaintiff and the court do not know this. All they know is that your mom is co owner of that account which makes it legal for them to apply and serve a writ against all of it.

You need to quash the writ and the only way to do that is to file a motion with the court that issued the writ.

Just so you all know, the lien has been removed and no funds were taken. Thanks for trying to help, thank God I had a bank that understands.

You are so lucky, hilde, to have a good bank in lieu of the situation and economy and am pleased you got it settled!

Just so you all know, the lien has been removed and no funds were taken. Thanks for trying to help, thank God I had a bank that understands.

And how did this happen? The bank cannot defy a lawful court order.

And how did this happen? The bank cannot defy a lawful court order.

I got all the help from Bud Hibbs. This guy is great!!

You are so lucky, hilde, to have a good bank in lieu of the situation and economy and am pleased you got it settled!

Thanks Tickle, I appreciate all you did to try and help me!:)

I got all the help from Bud Hibbs. This guy is great!!!

Who or what is a Bud Hibbs? And, again, how did you do this? You could be helping many others if you tell us what happened.

Consumer Justice - at Last! (http://www.budhibbs.com/)

I'd never heard of this...

Neither had I. But a glance through his book and site shows nothing different from the advice we give out here.

So I still wonder how the account was released.

Technically the account should not have been released except through the Court. Having a joint account is an open invitation for creditors to seize the account. I would suggest that mom get her own account or you get your own account so this does not happen again to you. You could be on her account if you need to write checks out for her but keep your money in your own account for obvious reasons. My elderly mother and I both had separate accounts but she was on my account as an authorized signer and I was on her account as an authorized signer as well. This way we had access to each other's accounts but had our money kept separate. Sounds complicated, but not really in reality. I would suggest that you get your own account now before the attorney's office tries to ding your joint account again (which they may still do by the way).

I agree with twink and also, if I were you, cancel the automatic deposit like I mentioned before and have the cheques sent by the mail. Once all that money is in the joint account it is fair game. If you set up precautions or damage control, you will not have to suffer through this again as you did before.

The actual creditor released the lien. Once the proof was provided that the funds were government and retirement funds and the rest were my funds, they had no choice. I am sorry, but you are giving me advice that is not correct. They cannot attach my funds and they cannot use her funds. In the meantime, I am working to pay off this debt. The bottom line is "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS". Thank you all but I am done with this

Joint owners cannot be held responsible for each others debt unless they are married.

WikiAnswers - Can a lien be placed on a joint account in which you are the secondary owner (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_a_lien_be_placed_on_a_joint_account_in_which_y ou_are_the_secondary_owner)

Please read this.

Again, you are not understanding what we are saying. We have told you that you are correct that you can't be held responsible for your mother's debts. No one is disputing that. And no one has given you incorrect advice.

But that neither a creditor nor a judge knows what portion of a joint account belongs to one party or the other. Nor do they know the source of the funds in the account. So its is perfectly legal for the holder of a judgement to petition the court for a writ of attachment and for the judge to grant it. The bank is then compelled to honor the writ.

The account owner is then required to prove what the source of the funds are. Generally, they would have to prove this to the judge who issued the writ so it can be rescinded.

In your case, you were lucky that the plaintiff realized that you would get the writ rescinded and rather than force you to go to court released it. They did not have to do so.

Finally, before you denigrate someone's advice, you should try understanding it first. If you had gone back to the court instead of the plaintiff in the first place, you might have speeded this along.

Ok, I went and read the Wiki answer you linked to and it says EXACTLY what I and others said to you in the beginning.

Scott, simply said, I was told on this board that the ONLY way to remove the lien would be with a court order. Now I know for a fact that is NOT true.

In essence, while I know that all of you tried to help, I feel I was misinformed. My opinion, that's all. I spoke with Bud Hibbs and he informed of my rights and I took it from there. I understood your advice, I am not illiterate nor am I stupid. As you can see there was no NEED for me to go to court. I did it myself, something you seemed to think I could not do. I did it without having to miss one moment of work, or go to a court.

The account was frozen Monday night, I spoke with the plaintiff Tuesday am, faxed the proof and the lien was removed Friday by 9AM. I don't think the courts would have been any faster.

Remember, that you told us that after initiallly contacting the plaintiff, they were not answering your calls. Given that information I stand by the advice I and others gave that you needed to get the court to rescind the writ. I further maintain that that's the way you should have gone in the first place.

You should consider yourself lucky that the plaintiff released the hold. They did not have to do so and that is certainly not the experience most people have had.

The people here informed you of your rights. They also informed you of the best way of dealing with the situation.

Thanks anyway!

Judy, I am not looking for an argument merely an answer. The one you gave was nasty. You have since edited it.

Hildie, my own opinion is that you were not looking for an argument or confrontational, (never sensed that tone from your posts) you were just very sure of how you wanted this to turn out and you made it happen, good for you! My opinion has nothing to do with how this whole thread played out. I just couldn't help but state this. Scottgem's advice is always exceptional though.

Glad you got it all settled, although, some people would not be so lucky.

Ms tickle

Hildie, my own personal opinion is that you were not looking for an argument or confrontational, (never sensed that tone from your posts) you were just very sure of how you wanted this to turn out and you made it happen, good for you !. My opinion has nothing to do with how this whole thread played out. I just couldnt help but state this. Scottgem's advice is always exceptional though.

Glad you got it all settled, although, some people would not be so lucky.

ms tickle

Thanks Tickle! I think you figured me out!!