Legal Question in Bankruptcy in New York

Re: paycheck garnished

Unless you get your husband judicially declared a spendthrift, which is a type of legal incompetency that is totally separate from any bankruptcy issues, he fully controls the money he brings in and can legally have it deposited into any account he wants.

If you can get him declared a spendthrift, a trustee or guardian for his paycheck will be set up and that person (who may be you, or may not be you; the judge will determine that) will take control of his money until such time as he is no longer deemed a spendthrift. These cases may involve trusts (called, appropriately, "spendthrift trusts"). I suspect, but do not know, that spendthrift cases are regularly reviewed by the courts.

You need to spend the money and hire a lawyer to handle this very delicate and complex situation for you. This is NOT something you should be doing by yourself.

I'm not the lawyer you want, since you now have the full sum and substance of my knowledge of this area of the law. Go with someone who deals with estate law or elder law (elder law would apply even if your husband is 18; the elder lawyers deal with trust situations all the time and have good experience with the various forms of incompetencies).

If you need a referral to an appropriate lawyer, the best way to get one is to talk with your friends and ask if they know a good wills and estates lawyer (you needn't go into details). Or you can call my office; I know several people I could recommend to you. Otherwise, the New York State Bar Association (www.nysba.org) has a referral service, or your local county bar association may. You might also try a site called www.legalmatch.com. Understand that these are merely a listing of what resources I am aware of; I take no position on the quality of any of the listed resources.

Good luck.

THE INFORMATION PRESENTED HERE IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND IS NOT INTENDED, NOR SHOULD IT BE CONSTRUED, AS LEGAL ADVICE. FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE ABOUT YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.