Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri

In the case of a hospital bill, through a court action can a hospital have a bank account frozen or attached if the money in this account is exclusively student loan money and student financial aid grant money? Let's say this account IS legally protected (I've read that it is), even so: how does one make sure that it IS protected from such a court action? No court action has occurred yet, but the account is soon going into collection, and surely a court legal action will follow. Could the judge decide in that very first court date that since no income is available to garnish that the bank account may be seized? Or frozen? What evidence must one produce to make sure the judge knows that the account is made up of student funds for education? And should one contact one's bank and get this on record in some way? The student is in Missouri and the bank is in Missouri.


Asked on 8/01/09, 2:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
J. Matthew Guilfoil The Guilfoil Law Group, L.L.C.

You should take the money out of the account! Any aggressive collections agency will garnish an account with only one name on it first, and ask questions later. Anyone with a valid judgment can execute a garnishment against a bank account titled in the person's name the judgment is against. You might try jointly titling an account, but this is also suspect. You will run a risk having money in any account that your creditor can find that is not jointly titled.

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Answered on 8/04/09, 3:57 pm


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