Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Alabama
Response to a Judgement
My husband was served with a Statement of Claims (Complaint) from a Credit Card account in Maryland. Local Sheriff's dept left notice in our mailbox. They are using a local attorney (within a 100 mile radius).Account in my husband's name only. Aqquired it after we were married. WE have joint checking/savings account. Our home is in my husband's name only. It is owner financed (the deed is recorded in my husbands' name) ...was a unique situation. Friend of ours did us a huge favor with the house. Anyway, we still owe 40,000 on the house. Gave 56 for it...appraises for 69,000. What are our options? Our home is homestead. Can they attach our house/checking accounts? Should we file bankruptcy or what ??? WE need help quick !!! WE do not want to lose our house. Nor do we want a lien to keep adding adding and adding forever.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Response to a Judgement
Basically, a plaintiff who wins a court judgment against a defendant can take certain actions to collect that judgment. One action would be to file a copy of the judgment with the local Probate judge, thereby creating a lien on your property and house. The plaintiff could also attempt to garnish any money in any checking/savings/share account with your husband's name on it or any wages he receives. Also, a plaintiff who has won a judgment may also file for an execution against any property yoru husband may have, including personal property. This means that the sheriff would come out with a representative of the plaintiff and they could seize any items you may have in your house or on your property that could be sold to satisfy the judgment. Now, you do have some defenses to actions like these. The state constitution and state statutes do provide certain exemptions you can use to prevent some of these steps. I would highly recommend that you contact an attorney to help you sort through some of these issues-before the trial especially. There may be some ways to fight back. If, for example, the credit card company used a debt collector at some point and that collector violated the Fair Debts Collections and Practices Act, you could file a counter-claim or file suit against the collector. There are tons of variables here that depend greatly on the specifics of your case. You definitely need an attorney to help you protect your assets.