Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida
I was sued by Chase and they got a judgement against me. Because they also owned the bank I am with, they froze both my checking and savings for twice the amount of the judgement each. It is a joint account and only I am being sued, not my fianc�e. I am also on unemployment because my position at work was terminated - I was cut hours and pay and have qualified for unemployment because of this. The paperwork I received after the judgement (because that was the only notification I got - anything else was more than likely sent to my old address - I had just moved when all this was taking place.) said they were garnishing my wages. My employer was never notified of this and my wages were not garnished, only my checking and savings accounts, which had very little in them. Is it legal to one, garnish a joint account when only one of the people on it is being sued, and two, garnish the money of someone on unemployment?
2 Answers from Attorneys
When you are garnished, you are served papers and you have a specified time period to respond by raising exemptions and defenses to the garnishment. Did you do so? Yes, a joint account can be garnished. If you are married, the account may be a tenancy by the entirety and, possibly, exempt. However, you still have to respond and raise the defense. Your fiance may want to intervene and claim the money is hers. As to your unemployment benefits, once deposited and commingled, I believe that they are subject to garnishment, but I am not certain and would have to research it.
See my website on garnishment. Want to know the law? Sign up for our free newsletter on varies areas of the law by sending an email to [email protected] and requesting the newsletter, or go to www.ConsumerLawyerHelp.com
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
