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Can a creditor freeze a bank account, or take funds out of the bank when the only income is social security benefits?My 87 yr old father-in-law defaulted on two credit cards, with balances in excess of 15K. The banks wrote this off as bad debt and turned it over to collection agencies. Now my father-in-law is getting calls from the creditors threatening to freeze his bank accounts. Can they do that? His only income is from social security benefits and he needs all of that to get by on. I'm not sure what we can do about this? He was quoted 1500.00 to file bankrupcy...but is that his only option? Attorney answers (1)
Reputation Level 14
Answered over 2 years ago.
Bankruptcy Attorney in Mount Pleasant, MI.
It depends. Technically social security funds are exempt from being garnished, however if a creditor gets a judgment and files a 3rd party garnishment against your father in law's bank, and your father in law fails to claim the exemption, they could succeed in getting the money. Collectors can be very threatening and they don't often tell the truth, but at the same time, your father in law needs to be vigilant to prevent improper garnishments from happening.
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