What happens when a creditor has a judgment against you? Some debtors make
the mistake of ignoring the summons and experience a rude awakening when
their wages or their bank account gets garnished. You have a certain amount
of time to answer the judgment before further legal action is taken against
you. If you fail to do anything you may be giving the creditor more of
an advantage to collect
non-exempt property from you including cash in your bank account.
Some states may not allow creditors to garnish wages, but they may have
the option of garnishing your bank account. In Texas, creditors may look
to garnish bank accounts, even if you have just a few bucks in the account.
If the creditor obtains legal permission from the court they may continue
to tap into the account until the judgment is satisfied.
Debtors have the option of opening another bank account to keep their funds
in, but creditors can eventually learn about this account. In some states,
such as Texas, creditors can act on their judgment for at least 10 years
and renew it afterwards if you do change your account. Meaning, if you
get a new bank account to try and avoid a garnishment, the creditor may
still learn about it later through further legal proceedings.
If you are unable to work out a repayment schedule with your creditor or
think you are in a position that makes it impossible for you to pay what
is owed, you may want to review your options with a Dallas / Fort Worth
bankruptcy lawyer. The judgment may be eligible for discharge.
Reference:
http://www.txbankruptcyblog.com/2013/12/articles/debt-relief/what-happens-if-a-creditor-gets-a-judgment-against-me/