Can funds from a pension and social security be taken?
by rhonda
(Brooks, Ga. USA)
My father did a voluntary repo. on two vehicles and losing most of his hearing and being declared legally blind. Now they are contacting us... Can his retirement or social security be garnished or bank acct. funds taken to repay this debt?
Comments for
Can funds from a pension and social security be taken?
Can funds from a pension and social security be taken? by: Debtcollectionanswers.com.
I assume that although your father gave back his vehicles to the lender and the lender sold the vehicles, there is still a balance due on one or both of his auto loans. That balance is called a deficiency and the lender is entitled to try to collect the deficiency amount. However, before the lender (or the collector it may have hired to collect the deficiency) can try to do that by going after the money in your father's bank account), it must sue him and win the lawsuit.
If the lender gets a judgment against your father for the deficiency amount, it is legally barred from trying to collect on the judgment by going after your father's pension and/or Social Security income -- those assets are exempt from collection, although there are a few exceptions. The danger however is that if those funds are deposited into your father's account and mingled with other money in his account, it could be difficult to distinguish exempt funds from nonexempt funds. Therefore, if the lender were to get permission to have the funds in your father's account frozen, it's likely that any money from his pension that might be there as well as any Social Security income in the account would be frozen too and then a process would have to be initiated to determine what is what. So, if your father is concerned that the lender may get a judgment against him, it would be a good idea for him to keep his pension income and his Social Security income in an account that is totally separate from the rest of his funds.
In your query you mentioned that you were being contacted about the money your father owes. Is the lender (or debt collector) actually contacting you about the deficiency rather than or in addition to your father? If so, the collector may be violating the law because unless you co-signed for the vehicle loans in question, you are not legally obligated to pay your father's debts. Therefore, you may want to contact a consumer law attorney in your area who helps people resolve debt collection problems or you may want to call the Collection Complaint Hotline at 888-711-5183 for a free, confidential case evaluation.
