Dealing with Debt

questions & answers

Question: As a 67 yr. old retiree with an income of 11,645 yearly from S.S. and a small retirement pension, are these monies subject to credit card debt collection? Other than two older vehicles, I have no assets.

Answer:

Garnishment procedures are governed by Arizona law and can be extremely complicated.  To apply for free or reduced fee legal services visit the Access To Justice Online Intake System located in the upper right of AzLawHelp.org under the LegalLEARN section.

Garnishment of Social Security Benefits: According to the Social Security Administration’s website (FAQ Section), if a creditor  other than the federal government tries to garnish your Social Security benefits, inform the creditor that such an action violates Section 207 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 407).  Section 207 bars garnishment of social security benefits. It can also be used as a defense if benefits are incorrectly garnished. However, there are a number of circumstances when the Federal government can garnish Social Security benefits. For a more detailed answer, please visit the Social Security Administration’s FAQ site, and type “garnish” in the search box. The site explains what types of garnishments against social security benefits are permissible and impermissible.

Garnishment of a Pension: If the court grants a judgment to a judgment creditor, the judgment creditor has a number of options available to collect a judgment. One of these options is known as a garnishment, by which a money judgment may be collected from the following: • Earnings: wages, commissions, pensions or bonuses paid or payable to the judgment debtor • Non-earnings: money or property owed to the judgment debtor that is in possession of a third party such as rent or a bank account or the contents of a safe deposit box. To find out how the law applies to a specific situation, contact an attorney directly.