Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

A creditor with a judgment can take all the money in a joint account. The burden is then on the innocent party to show, in court, that the money is theirs. The easy solution - don't have joint accounts (or don't keep money in them).

If they sue him and get a judgment against him, yes they can pursue joint accounts. So until he gets this resolved, do not keep any joint accounts with him. You may do well to sit down and talk with a lawyer, as if a $1300 debt is problematic, that would tend to say you may have other debt issues and a lawyer can advise on all of them at once.

Attorneys Riddle and Ashman are correct. Assuming that the lender sues and recovers a judgment against your husband, then the creditor can seek to execute on that judgment. They can garnish up to 25% of your husband's disposable (net) pay as well as seize any assets owned solely by your husband free and clear and seize any bank accounts. Having a joint bank account does not provide protection.

You do not have to do anything today, but if your husband is sued, his name cannot be on a joint bank account with anyone. He should not have a bank account and there should be no assets in his name. If he works and is a W2 employee, then his wages may still be at risk of garnishment.

Your husband has a couple of options - if the money was only recently owed, then your husband may have some time before a lawsuit shows up. If he does not care about his credit, then he needs to start putting money aside - if he puts aside $200 a month in 7 months he should have enough to resolve the debt (assuming he cannot settle for less). If he can afford $100 then it will take a bit longer. The point is that he must start doing it now so that when he has the funds or if a lawsuit shows up he will be able to work a deal and have the funds at hand.

If your husband cares about his credit, then he has a choice - either work out a deal with the lender OR go and borrow the $1300, pay back the lender and then pay back the loan as per its terms. Only do this if funds can be borrowed from a traditional source - bank, favorable terms at a credit union or other private lender. Do not borrow funds from a payday lender under any circumstances; your husband will live to regret it.

Resolving debts and protecting assets is what I do! If your husband is interested please have him contact me at [email protected].

I would not let a $1300 debt affect otherwise good credit.