Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia

Bank account frozen after exemption

A couple of months ago, after I lost a judgment and was served with garnishment papers, I requested a garnishment-exemption hearing. During the hearing, I filed my homestead (personal property) exemption with the court, exempting the money in my bank account, amongst other things. Neither the plaintiff's attorney nor the judge objected or saw a problem with the exemption, as I had followed proper procedure by filing the deed in the county in which I live. However, today I find out that my bank account was frozen ANYWAY, even though I had less money in it than the maximum amount I had claimed in the exemption. Isn't this illegal? Does a judgment creditor have the right to disregard a homestead exemption?


Asked on 6/28/06, 7:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Bank account frozen after exemption

It may be that the particular amount in the account specifically covered by the exemption changed for some reason and therefore the bank concluded that it(the exemption) no longer applied.

A good place to start for an explanation would be the bank itself rather than your judgment creditor.

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Answered on 6/29/06, 6:40 am


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