Bieber, CA Bankruptcy Law Firms & Lawyers

The choices are: Have your wages garnished at 25% of your income and you can then ask the court to reduce the percentage taken from your wages to whatever percentage the court thinks you can afford to pay (maybe nothing) or file a bankruptcy case to discharge all of your debts. If you have any money in the bank then it can be taken (levied) and if you own any real estate then the creditor can put a lien on the property unless you pay or file a bankruptcy case and you will have to pay the debt when you sell or refinance the property. These are the likely things that will happen if you don't pay the debt. Of course, you can negotiate the amount owed and pay less if you can come up with a substantial amount big enough so that creditor will accept it and forget the rest.

Dear Anonymous,     The answer to your question requires a few more facts. If the credit card companies to whom you owe money have not yet sued you and obtained a judgment, then they generally cannot simply "take" money from your account. That, however, is not entirely true if you owe money to the bank where the bank accounts are held. In other words, if you owe Chase money, and you go onto your husband's bank accounts at Chase, they can exercise the right of setoff against the money in the account. It doesn't happen frequently, but you should not bank where you owe money and are not repaying it. If, on the other hand, the credit card companies have judgments against you, then yes, they can levy any bank account and take money from the account. They have to know where you bank, but that can easily be determined through a Judgment Debtor Exam. I hope this helps. David L. Gibbs, Esq.The Gibbs Law Firm, APCSan Clemente, Californiadavid.gibbs@gibbslaw.com *Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, The Gibbs Law Firm, APC's (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided is general and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence. As required by 11 U.S.C. §528, we must now disclose that, "We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. Assistance we provide with respect to Debt Relief may involve bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code."

Is your bankruptcy discharged? Is the water bill for usage after you filed bankruptcy? If so you owe it. The trustee is prohibited from giving you legal advice. You should consult with an attorney.