Legal Question in Federal Tort Claims in California

filing a claim on siezed money

My ex husband has been arrested for a fedral drug crime. We have a 3 yr old daughter and I was wondering if it would be of any benifit to our daughter to file a claim on his assests, or is it not possible that I would be considered a person who can claim ?


Asked on 6/25/08, 10:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Stephen Petix Quinton & Petix

Re: filing a claim on siezed money

Unless you or your daughter can claim a current ownership interest in the specific money seized by the Government, you are probably out of luck.

Generally speaking, an unsecured creditor of the person who possessed the money when it was seized does not have standing to make a claim for the seized money. If all you have is a child support order, that would probably not be sufficient to make you more than an unsecured creditor of your ex-husband.

The law concerning federal asset forfeitures is rather complex, however, and you may want to get a second opinion from an expert in that area. (I am not.) You might try contacting attorney Richard M. Barnett, in San Diego. Email: [email protected]

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Answered on 6/25/08, 3:45 pm


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