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What is a support order?

In general legal terms an “order” is a command entered by a judge instructing parties to take some action or face penalties for violation of the order. A “support order” is an order of a court to pay child support, alimony, spousal support or some other type of family maintenance. The support order is usually incident to an action for divorce, legal separation or paternity, and is generally paid on a monthly basis.

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What is a judgment debtor?

The term judgment debtor is a legal term used to describe anyone who owes money that the court has ordered him to pay as part of a legal judgment. A judgment debtor can be a person who is ordered to pay child support for his children, a corporation that is ordered to pay restitution to the families of victims of a faulty or unsafe product that they produced, or a criminal who is ordered to make repayment of the money that he has stolen to the victims of his crime.

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Garnishment or Seizure of Bank Accounts by Creditors

If you owe money to a creditor (or debt collector), it can obtain a money judgment against you and have the funds in your bank account frozen and paid over to them. If a creditor takes you to court to recover any money owning to them, and wins, the court will issue a judgment. If you still fail to pay the amount the court ordered you to pay, the creditor can then ask to court to issue a’Writ of Garnishment.’

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What types of property are exempt from execution and levy?

Each state has its own laws which exempt certain property from being subject to execution and levy. However, it is important to note that even within these exemptions, there are exceptions to these exemptions and they vary by state. Your home, or’homestead property,’ always falls into this exemption, but may depend on what type of judgment is being enforced.

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An Interview with Debt Collection Consumer Advocate Bud Hibbs

We recently interviewed Bud Hibbs, a debt collection consumer advocate and consultant for over 25 years who has written several books, is approved to teach CLE courses through the State Bar of Texas and has appeared in numerous radio and television programs including the Oprah Winfrey Show to get his take on the state of the debt collection industry in America. This is an excerpt from that interview.

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Asset Acceptance Corporation: Junk Debt Collection at Its Worst

The publicly traded Asset Acceptance Corporation is a junk debt buyer whose collection tactics have been deemed some of the worst in the nation. According to consumer advocate Bud Hibbs’ website, the company ‘lies, steals, cheats, misrepresents, and files bogus claims.’ While these are bold statements, consumer comments posted on the site seem to concur that Asset Acceptance Corporation continues to subject consumers to debt collection harassment.

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Loss of Driver’s License When You Have Not Paid a Debt: Is That a Possibility?

Creditors and collection agencies cannot have your driver’s license suspended for not paying debts. Agencies and creditors routinely use threats of dire consequences for not paying debts, sometimes including a very unlikely threat of imprisonment — as if the possibility of being sued were not serious enough. The creditors often claim that if the debt is not paid, they will contact the state Department of Motor Vehicles to have the debtor’s driving privileges suspended or revoked.

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