Many have asset protection legislation that generally favor foreign trust settlors and/or LLC founders. Establishing an offshore LLC and/or asset protection trust may be one of the only ways you can protect your assets from a U.S. court judgment.
In many states, some IRS-designated trust accounts may be exempt from creditor garnishment. This includes individual retirement accounts (IRAs), pension accounts and annuity accounts. Assets (including bank accounts) held in what's known as an irrevocable living trust cannot be accessed by creditors.
A creditor can merely review your past checks or bank drafts to obtain the name of your bank and serve the garnishment order. If a creditor knows where you live, it may also call the banks in your area seeking information about you.
The short answer is no, a debt collector cannot take your house. However, a creditor whose loan is secured by your house can foreclose on the loan and take the house, and depending on your state laws, a debt collector without a security interest in your home may be able to put a lien on it.
Phone directories, printed or online, are good sources of names, addresses, and phone numbers. If a collection agency has your phone number, it may be able to find your address using a reverse directory. A reverse directory lists telephone numbers in numeric order, rather than by name.
Under Federal Law, a collection agency or debt collector can only withdraw money from your bank account if it obtains a judgment against you. According to Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the collection agency must first give you 30 days, through written notice to take care of the debt.
Putting excess money that's above the protected limit in a bank account into a prepaid card is like taking cash out of your account. A creditor won't be able to locate and garnish it. ... There are simply no procedures in place for judgment creditors to access information in order to garnish those types of accounts.
When a judgment has been entered against you, creditors can take some of your income or your “assets” to pay back the money you owe. Assets are things you own, like a bank account, a car, or jewelry. But, you can keep some of your income and assets safe from most creditors.
That type of trust in California is permitted and can function fairly effectively to shield assets from the children's creditors as long as those assets remain in the trust. But someone cannot gain the same protection if they are the creator of the trust and the beneficiary of the trust.
A ghost authorization is when a merchant asks a bank to authorize a small amount against a customer's credit card or debit card through their merchant account prior to authorizing their actual purchase. ... The key problem with policies like “ghost authorizations” is they leave the customer out of the conversation.
All states have designated certain types of property as "exempt," or free from seizure, by judgment creditors. For example, clothing, basic household furnishings, your house, and your car are commonly exempt, as long as they're not worth too much.
When your creditor has a court order against you, they can apply for another court order that secures the debt against your home or other property you own. ... After your creditor gets a charging order, they can usually apply to the court for another order to force you to sell your home. This is called an 'order for sale'.
Once it has a judgment, a creditor may serve you with notice of a debtor's examination. The notice will order you to appear at a specific place at a certain time and testify, under oath, about your assets. If you don't show up, the court could hold you in contempt of court and issue a warrant for your arrest.
Various investment accounts, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs), carry a certain amount of protection in the interest of justice. Federal laws protect numerous retirement plans, but many states also offer asset protection trusts that safeguard homesteads, annuities, and life insurance.
You might be able to prevent collection of a judgment by negotiating with the creditor or claiming property as exempt. If a creditor sues you and gets a judgment, it has a whole host of collection methods available to get its money from you, including wage attachments, property levies, assignment orders, and more.
Properties a creditor can seize include tangible assets, such as vehicles, houses, stocks, and company shares. They can also include future assets a debtor expects to receive such as commissions, insurance payouts, and royalties. The attorney questioning you will very likely discover these assets.
Savings accounts are a safe place to keep your money because all deposits made by consumers are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for bank accounts or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) for credit union accounts.