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Can My Father's Social Security and Pension be Garnished?

Can my father's social security and pension be garnished?

Due to the fact that my mother passed away, my father was left with huge medical bills. The life insurance paid for the funeral and burial, but thats it. My father does not have much money or assets. He is collecting social security and a pension, but money is still very tight. Can his pension or social security be garnished to pay the medical bills?

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Bill's Answer
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Generally speaking, Government administered benefits, such as state pensions and social security, cannot be garnished by a judgment.

However, if he deposits those benefits into a bank account and then co-mingle the funds with money from other, non-exempt sources, proving the exempt status of the funds may be quite difficult.

My suggestion is to open a new bank account into which he would deposit all of his exempt funds, and maintain another account for any non-exempt funds he may receive (gifts from friends, income from work, etc.). He will then need to notify his bank that the funds being deposited into the exempt account should not be levied upon, and that the bank should refuse any levy orders it receives.

The bank may or may not be able to guarantee that a levy will not be placed on his exempt funds, but taking these steps should offer him at least some level of protection. If a creditor does place a levy on a bank account containing exempt funds, he will likely need to file a notice of exemption with the court, and attend a hearing to request that the funds be released back to him.

If the court determines that the funds are exempt from attachment, it should release the money back to him.

If he is struggling with to pay the medical bills you should visit the to get no-cost, no-obligation quotes from pre-screened debt settlement service providers.

If he cannot afford the monthly payments for a debt settlement program bankruptcy may be a good option for him to resolve his debt problems. If you would like to read more about bankruptcy in general, I encourage you to visit the page.

I hope this information helps you Find. Learn & Save.



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