The father of my son and I are not married. We do not live together. We do no share expenses however, he is the secondary owner of a checking account I am the primary owner of. The purpose of the account is for me to save for a house for myself and my children. He makes deposits into the account simply as a way to pay me child support, out of Court, as per a personal arrangement we have. The state of NJ levied the account (a week before Christmas)because he is in arrears. I have made the majority of the deposits in this account. What is the likelihood that I will be able to get my money back? I have written a letter explaining the purpose of the account and have attached bank statements showing where the funds have come from (my accounts that I own by myself). I have also explained the reasons for his deposits. Additionally, some of his deposits came from an exempt source (the VA). My questions are: What are my chances of getting that money back, at least MY deposits minus MY withdrawals and what effect with this have on my credit report? I have spent the last year rebuilding my credit and saving for a downpayment. This debt has nothing to do with me, can they really take the money from me and my 5 children?

Yes, as long as he listed as an owner of that account, it can be attached by anyone with a valid judgment. If you had any awareness that he had debts, you should have taken him off.

Whether a judge will allow some or any of the money to be returned will depend on how well you can prove the source of the funds. The only thing you can do is try.

If you are unsuccessful you can sue him for your losses.

Yes, writing a letter will not do it, you will have to file a motion in court, ( not write a letter) asking the judge to order the money returned.

But yes legally, he was on the account and they can take the money.