Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Utah

Limits to attachments of bank accounts and wages

My brother recently saw an attorney about filing for bankruptcy after unsuccessfully trying to get out from under debt incurred largely by an ex-wife. A credit card company had been awarded a judgement but the attorney said it usually takes a couple of months for any attachments to occur, and that my brother only needed to fill out the necessary forms for bankruptcy and get them to him before their next appointment (which is this coming Tuesday). Day before yesterday, he found out that the credit card company had taken $1000 from his bank account leaving him a little over $1. This was all the money he had to pay rent, groceries, utilities, etc.--the very basics. Can they simply wipe someone out like this without leaving any money for that person to live on? His attorney was not available when he called his office.


Asked on 8/26/01, 6:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alvin Lundgren Alvin R. Lundgren, L.C.

Re: Limits to attachments of bank accounts and wages

Something is wrong with the facts you have. Once a judgment is obtained, the next step is a garnishment. A garnishment is preceded by a notice of garnishment which allows the garnishee time to respond to interrogatories and to protest the garnishment. A garnisher can take some money, but not all if an answer is properly filed.

Your brother probably knew of the garnishment before the money was actually taken. Even if he did not know, his bankruptcy attorney can recover some if not all of the money from the garnishing attorney.

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Answered on 9/04/01, 10:53 am


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