BANKRUPTCY AND SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY It has been a trying time, due to your medical problems. You can no longer work and your bills are piling up. You are in the process of a Social Security disability claim, or perhaps you have finally been approved for Social Security disability, but you still have all of your bills. What do you do? Is bankruptcy your only option? creditor money. No big deal, you knew that you owed the money. The question is, what can the creditor do with that judgment?
The next step for a creditor is to file for a garnishment. The creditor will attempt to collect the money owed by having it deducted from a paycheck or a bank account. However, Social Security payments are exempt from garnishment. If you are receiving your Social Security by deposit into a bank account, the bank cannot take that money to pay a garnishment. Social Security will not take any money to pay a garnishment like an employer is required to do. So if your only income is Social Security disability, the creditor cannot touch those funds. I normally advise individuals who only receive Social Security disability to ignore the creditors and use their money to live on, but there are exceptions. Now, if you have other income going into the bank account or you are working part time, those funds can be seized by the creditor. If you own real estate, the creditor may be able to put a
If your only income is from Social Security disability, you may not need to file a bankruptcy to get rid of debts that you can no longer pay. When the laws were written to create the Social Security disability programs, Congress realized that these payments were necessary for an individual to live on and should be protected from creditors. They made it so that a creditor cannot touch your Social Security benefits involuntarily. This means that if you do not make payments to a creditor, like a credit card company or a medical provider, there is little that they can do about it. When you fail to make the payments required for a loan, credit card, or medical bill, the creditor can file a lawsuit against you. This is usually a warrant in debt filed in general district court, but it can be a motion for judgment filed in circuit court. The only issue that the court has to decide is whether you actually owe the company the money that they claim is owed to them. If you have this type of lawsuit filed against you, you are not required to attend the hearing. At the hearing, the judge will normally grant the creditor a judgment. This is simply a legal term that means the judge has said that you owe the
lien against your house. In these cases, you may need to file a bankruptcy to protect your other assets. For more information on whether you need to file a bankruptcy, visit my website at HamptonRoadsLegal.com. I have a tool that will walk you through whether you need to file for bankruptcy. For more information, you can also call me at 757-346-5815.
– Edrie-Pfeiffer
Corn Pudding
Ingredients
• •
3 eggs
2 cups whole kernel corn, well drained
• • • • • •
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups milk
½ cup light cream
Directions
PET OF THE MONTH!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Grease a 1 ½ quart casserole.
HARLEY, AN ITALIAN GREYHOUND, BECAME A MEMBER OF THE GILLETTE FAMILY IN MAY. SHE WILL GROW TO BE ABOUT 8-15 POUNDS AND STAND ABOUT 13-15 INCHES TALL AT THE SHOULDER. SHE LOVES TO PLAY, AND IS ENJOYING ALL THE ATTENTION SHE IS GETTING FROM OUR FOUR KIDS!
3. Beat the eggs until they are light and fluffy.
4. Stir in the corn, sugar, salt, bread crumbs, and butter.
5. Add the milk and cream and mix well.
6. Pour into the prepared casserole and place the dish in a pan of boiling water.
7. Bake at 350 F for 50–60 minutes, or until the custard is set.
Recipe inspired by The Williamsburg Cookbook.
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