Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: garnishment

To the extent the bank account contains social security proceeds, it is exempt. You need to file the exemption form that was served with the garnishment and prove the exemption. You may want to contact legal aid or another lawyer who can assist you with this. You do not need to claim social security proceeds as exempt under a homestead deed - just file the (usually) yellow form and get a hearing date.

Re: garnishment

Social Security Benefits are exempt from being garnished to satisfy a judgment. You should make the issuing court aware of what is happening.

Re: garnishment

The simple answer is, "no". However, there are some options you may have. If the judgment is very large and not for some malicious act on your part, you may want to consider bankruptcy. If the judgment was obtained by fraud on the court, you can move to set aside the judgment if it's been less than two years, or file a separate action in the circuit court to set aside the original judgment on that basis if it's been longer (the burden of proof will be on you to demonstrate that the original judgment was improperly obtained). If the creditor used a collection agency you may have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Finally, you can file a homestead deed protecting up to $5000 of your assets from attachment - this once in a lifetime exemption should be used wisely and should be drafted by an attorney.