Father's stuck with dead mother's debts.

[jgross00]

Here's the short version. My father and mother were never married. They lived together for the last 23 years of my mother's life but were, for all intents and purposes, two single-membered households living in one dwelling. Over the course of those 23 years my mother used my father's personal information to open several credit card and cellular phone accounts. He knew nothing about any of it. He never uses credit cards or finances anything so there was no way for him to find out. She forged all the applications and signatures, basically assuming my father's identity, and maxed out all the accounts or let them default. All these accounts are now in collections and the amount of debt is ridiculous, something like 25k, probably more. In addition to the debts in my fathers name she had fraudulent credit cards in several other people's names like her ex-husband, her first son's grandmother, and my father's great aunt. All of them trusted her and gave her access to their info and all of them got took. We only recently found out about the debts since, after my mother died, there was no way she could screen the collections phone calls or intercept the court summons' papers while my dad was out of the house. By his never knowing about any of the cases he was found guilty of many of the debts by simply failing to appear. He has, since finding out about them, filed identity theft or fraud papers with the court for each of the debts but they (the courts) seem to be turning a blind eye to this. They are insisting that he is at fault and that he should be found guilty. He recently found out that there are several liens against his property because of all these fraudulent debts and he is in danger of losing his home even though he has never defaulted on a debt in his life. There is nothing that ties my father to any of it, not a single signature or application that he has filled out, no eyewitnesses, nothing. The only reason he was found guilty of any of it was due to the fact that he was kept in the dark about the situation for 20 years. He lives on social security and can't really hire an attorney and he tried to get help from Legal-Aid of TN but they said they wouldn't help because he's already lost the cases. What should he do? If any further info is needed to clarify I'll be glad to give it, I just need some advice.

 

[army judge]

Tell your dad not to worry or stress about any of this. Why? Well, there is nothing that can be done to him.

Sure, he may have a lien (or two) on his home, that's okay. Why? Well, his home can't be sold out from under him to satisfy the lien(s). And, no one can touch a penny of his pension or social security to satisfy the debts.

He should stop worrying about this (and you should, too). He should enjoy his golden years and live free knowing that he did nothing illegal, incorrect, or devious.

 

[jgross00]

His major worry isn't that he will lose his home during his lifetime but that it will be confiscated when he passes away and he'll have nothing to leave to me or that i'll have to pay all sorts of legal fees in the future if I wish to keep the place, all because of some crazy nonsense that was beyond his control. Is that a legitimate worry, that they'll get the place when he dies?

You say they can't touch his money, what makes you think that? He recently had his bank account garnished by one of the creditors, they've taken $100 from him on a couple of occasions, even though the only deposits that ever go into the account are those made by Social Security. Due to this, he has closed his account and now gets his check mailed to his address and cashes it every month at a grocery store. In a few months the Social Security checks are going to be changed so that recipients must have a checking account in order to receive benefits. He's about to be in a situation where he is forced to put his money into an account that the collectors can access. This seems illegal but it's obviously kosher with the bank, the collectors and the government. Thanks much for your help.

 

[army judge]

His major worry isn't that he will lose his home during his lifetime but that it will be confiscated when he passes away and he'll have nothing to leave to me or that i'll have to pay all sorts of legal fees in the future if I wish to keep the place, all because of some crazy nonsense that was beyond his control. Is that a legitimate worry, that they'll get the place when he dies?

You say they can't touch his money, what makes you think that? He recently had his bank account garnished by one of the creditors, they've taken $100 from him on a couple of occasions, even though the only deposits that ever go into the account are those made by Social Security. Due to this, he has closed his account and now gets his check mailed to his address and cashes it every month at a grocery store. In a few months the Social Security checks are going to be changed so that recipients must have a checking account in order to receive benefits. He's about to be in a situation where he is forced to put his money into an account that the collectors can access. This seems illegal but it's obviously kosher with the bank, the collectors and the government. Thanks much for your help.

What makes me say that?

A law degree, admission to six state bars, the federal bar, the military court of appeals, and nearly 40 years of practicing law.

I'm only concerned that your dad doesn't get put out into the street.
Even if he were to die, the greedy debt scum couldn't put YOU out in the street, either.
That lien will sit there, until the house is sold.
Well, it'll sit there IF they renew it periodically.
One day if the house is sold, and the lien still exists, the greedy debt collector scum can try to get paid.
If it never is sold, but lived in, those damn debt collectors take nothing, get nothing!

If they bother dad, just let me know.
I hate it when creeps do that to old people (like me).
I'll represent him pro bono.
In the interim, tell dad to relax and enjoy his golden years!

Your dad can get every dime those greedy debt collectors STOLE from him back!

The federal government not only cares, but has banned such practices.

Read this thread below.

Question:
Can Social Security benefits be garnished by creditors to pay a debt?

Answer:
Section 207 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 407) protects Social Security benefits from assignment, levy, or garnishment. However, the law provides five exceptions:

* Section 459 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 659) allows Social Security benefits to be garnished to enforce child support and/or alimony obligations;
* Section 6334 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 6334 (c)) allows benefits to be levied to collect unpaid Federal taxes;
* Section 3402 (P) of the Internal Revenue Code allows beneficiaries to elect to have a percentage of their benefits withheld and paid to the Internal Revenue Service to satisfy their Federal income tax liability for the current year;
* The Debt Collection Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-134) allows benefits to be withheld and paid to another Federal agency to pay a non-tax debt the beneficiary owes to that agency: and
* The Tax Payer Relief Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-34) authorizes the Internal Revenue Service to collect overdue federal tax debts of beneficiaries by levying up to 15 percent of each monthly payment until the debt is paid.

The Social Security Administration's responsibility for protecting benefits against legal process and assignment usually ends when the beneficiary is paid. However, once paid, benefits continue to be protected under section 207 of the Act as long as they are identifiable as Social Security benefits using normal banking practices. For example, only social security benefits are deposited into a particular bank account.

If a creditor tries to garnish your social security check, inform them that unless one of the five exceptions apply, your benefits can not be garnished. You also may want to provide this same information to your financial institution and seek legal assistance if you believe it is needed.


NOTE: Supplemental Security Income payments cannot be levied or garnished.

http://www.ssa.gov/deposit/DDFAQ898.htm

 

[silkplants]

It is really helpful. Thanks