[JohnFarahay]

1. I have two checking accounts at a particular bank
2. I am the primary account holder on both
3. My sister is a joint (secondary) account holder on both
4. My sister had some credit problems
5. Her creditor garnished an account she had, and
6. Both of mine since her name appeared on them also
7. She informed both the creditor and the bank that the funds were mine
8. But the bank honored the writ of garnishment anyway
9. I was not informed of any judgements that could/would affect my accounts
10. I was not informed of the garnishment process involving my accounts
11. I discovered the action weeks later when I received my bank statement
12. Was the garnishment legal?
13. Should I have been notified of the garnishment?
14. Do I have any recourse to recover my money?

[Fr_Chuck]

First with her on the accounts, it was "both your" money, not "your" money. So yes they can legally garnish those accounts.

And your sister, who is an account holder on the account, would have been aware and had a chance to be at the garnishment hearing in court.
So I guess she failed to tell you about it.

Since your sister would have been aware they do not have to tell you. Your sister would have been served about the hearing and I guess everyone forgot she had these accounts also. ( if she is on the account, it is her account also.)

No you don't personally have to be told, since one party of the account was told..

Now, you can file with the court as an injured party, you will have to show that it was indeed your money, that you put it in th account and that your sister did not put any money into the account and the account was not for her benefit.

Next I guess I wonder what were the accounts for and why was her name on it. ( and why did you not take her name off them when she started getting sued for money)

But it will be a long and expensive process. You will need to hire an attorney to file on your behalf but the court can still decide that she had an interest in the money and still rule that the money was legally hers also.

I am sorry for your loss, this is sadly a very common situation when we have several people on bank accounts. As a listed party, unless they were specified as merely a signing party, they are just as much owner of the account as the other person.

[CaptainForest]

I agree with Fr Chuck.

The money is both of yours so they can garnish it. Why was she on the account then if it wasn’t her money?

How can you get back the money? You can sue your sister, although that might not do much good. Since the agreement between the 2 of you as to how to share the account was 100/0 or whatever.

Remember, any legal proceedings costs money, so you need to look at the value of the money you lost and decide if it is really worth it. It could cost you more in legal fees than what you will ever receive.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes I will agree with the Captain and sorry I forgot to mention it, your sister is the one really liable to you for the lost, since it was her debt that caused your money to be taken (although on a joint account it is both of your money)

But if someone is already sueing her and has a garnishment I doubt she has the money to pay you back. And at least from my personal esperience, I have seldom seen money loaned come back to me
( and my relation reading this knows I am talking about them)

Perhaps if you can repost on here what the money was far, who put the money in the account, why both names were on it, that may shed some light on it better.

[Dr D]

Losing money from one's bank account because of the actions of an irresponsible relative (co-owner) is bad enough. Often elderly parents put an adult child on the deed to their home to avoid probate in the event of their death. If the child gets a judgment ot tax lien, it attaches to the parent's home; a bad thing. There is a relatively new instrument in some states called a "Beneficiary Deed". It accomplishes the transfer of real property without the risks of co-ownership. If the current beneficiary ticks you off, you can revoke it and name a different beneficiary.

[Fr_Chuck]

Dr D ( that was not one of the guys 007 used to fight)

But I had not heard about that, we have similar issue coming up.
My mom wants three of us on her deed, but I know one of them is already being sued for money and the other one has all sorts of legal issues.

I will have my attorney look into it.

[Ver]

It should also be noted here that SSI and SSDI funds cannot be garnished for debts, unless they are government debts, such as back taxes, child support, or student loans.

You don't say where the money was from, if it was payroll, or disability funds. They can still garnish if you have disability funds in there, but this gives you an exemption, so you can fight it and get your money returned to you.


No, they did not have to inform you about the suit, since you weren't involved in it, and of course they would not inform anyone of the garnishment itself, as this would result in people removing the funds in there, and hiding the money from them.

Your first and smartest move would be to start a new account with just your name on it, or to remove the other person's name from the existing ones to prevent such occurrences in the future. Otherwise, if they money in there wasn't enough to cover the amount owed, they will keep garnishing that account every time more money is put in there, until they are paid in full.

[Dr D]

I could have sworn that I posted a reply yesterday, but I guess it didn't take. I did a quick Google search and found that the BD is in use in perhaps seven states, some of which are AZ, OR, MO, CO. CA is studying the issue. One possible drawback to this instrument is in the case of a high dollar estate, because the real property is entered into the estate at full value for estate tax purposes. Fr Chuck might not have the BD available in TN.

Also, I have never been a foe of 007. The nickname of Dr Demento was given to me for my ability to remember prefabricated humor of questionable taste and propriety.

[mr.yet]

1. I have two checking accounts at a particular bank
2. I am the primary account holder on both
3. My sister is a joint (secondary) account holder on both
4. My sister had some credit problems
5. Her creditor garnished an account she had, and
6. Both of mine since her name appeared on them also
7. She informed both the creditor and the bank that the funds were mine
8. But the bank honored the writ of garnishment anyway
9. I was not informed of any judgements that could/would affect my accounts
10. I was not informed of the garnishment process involving my accounts
11. I discovered the action weeks later when I received my bank statement
12. Was the garnishment legal?
13. Should I have been notified of the garnishment?
14. Do I have any recourse to recover my money?

File Motion in your local court to Quash the Garnishment, as long as you can proof the money in these account belong to you, they must be released, you are not party to the judgment, than they have no claim to your funds.

Just my 2 cents, not legal advice>>

[Ver]

Unfortunately, the creditors will not care whose money it was, they do not like to give it back once they have their grubby little paws on it, and it is not enough or a reason to invalidate the garnishment.

The only thing that can be done is to sue the person who has the judgment against them, and try to recover the money from them.

[mr.yet]

Unfortunately, the creditors will not care whose money it was, they do not like to give it back once they have their grubby little paws on it, and it is not enough or a reason to invalidate the garnishment.

The only thing that can be done is to sue the person who has the judgment against them, and try to recover the money from them.

If the garisnment is less than 30 days old , Motion to Quash, will prevent the money be transfer.

[Ver]

Yes, though it won't get the money released yet. It may give the person injured time to contact an attorney and see what else can be done before their money is gone.