Hi,

I have a question regarding a creditor's ability to freeze a bank account through garnishment in the state of KS. I have a judgment against me for medical bills <$5,000. I am making small monthly payments to the attorneys who are representing the creditor although the payments are not part of an agreement as they demanded 3 times as much when I attempted to work out an arrangement. I recently received notice that they are attempting to garnish funds from an old checking account I had that I closed in May of this year. I imagine that once they find that to be fruitless, that they will proceed to go after my new account and possibly my wages. Incidentally I changed accounts prior to learning that they were taking me to court for a judgment. My new account, however, is at the same bank where I maintain a checking account for my ward, whom I am the legal guardian for. Her funds are primarily SSI, but she does have a small check each month from a part time job. Her account is under my name as guardian, with her named as the ward. She cannot write checks and cannot perform transactions on the account without my permission/signature.

I know that technically her funds wouldn't be able to be garnished because they are SSI, but I am afraid that they will freeze her account until I request a court date and make my case there as I am the primary account holder. Is there any way that I can prevent this from occurring without having to request and then wait for a court date? A freeze on this account is unacceptable and would really put my guardianship in jeopardy. As I am the first person to advocate for this woman for many, many years, I could not imagine that occurring.

I have found a bit online about 'EIPA', but the only reference refers to New York so I am not certain if this applies Federally or if it is simply a New York law preventing accounts to be frozen under certain conditions.

I would appreciate any input you may have. I need to be proactive and do what I can to prevent this from occurring. Unfortunately I cannot afford an attorney and do not qualify for Kansas Legal Services.

Thanks!

Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.