If the Sheriff comes a knocking?

[docniss]

Had this happen in regards to a small claims case against husband. He lost 2 years ago, but he paid nothing. Plaintiff finally sent sheriff knocking on door. Sheriff says he will be back in 4 days to take stuff from the house. Husband has been injured and unemployed, but since the sheriff came knocking has reached an agreement to send plaintiff a small amount each month, which he has been doing.

My question is can that be done legally if the husband is not on the deed to the property? If I "legally" own the property, how can someone enter my house and take my property to be applied towards a judgement on someone else?

[WhoCares1000]

I think what the sheriff is referring to is a levy on furniture/clothing/jewelry/etc. rather than the house itself. The idea is that they would sell that stuff to pay off the judgment.

I do not know about IN law but in MN, this is legal. In fact, I have heard of cases where the sheriff has gone to businesses and sat at the till collecting all the money until the judgment was paid as well as taking packages at UPS or USPS.

Since you are in payment mode and have the creditor at bay, you need to learn a few things though:

1) IN exemption laws. Most states have laws that exempt a certain amount of furniture and other items from levy. It could be as low as $100 or as much as $5000. That means that if they take and sell all of your furniture, the exemption amount must be paid to you first before any of the sale fees and the judgment

2) Learn what your rights are regarding marital property in IN. I do not think Indiana is a community property state. Hence, you may own 1/2 of the furniture and before the exemption kicks in, they must give you your half of whatever the stuff sells for.

3) Learn what has been going on in the case so far. Go to the courthouse and get the full case information to see what levies have been filed.

4) Learn how to enforce and protect your rights.

If you do not do these things, then the creditor is simply going to run roughshod over your rights to get their money.

Also, since the house is in your name only, I do not see the creditor taking the house itself unless they want to prove that your husband transferred his rights to you to avoid paying on the judgment (fraudulent transfer this is called).

[Guest usctrojanalum]

Yeah this is called a property execution. Should check IN's exemptions though, in NY for example most clothing is exempt, wedding rings are exempt, one television is exempt, and a bible is exempt (and I am not kidding the exemptions actually list bible lol).

[DCusr]

I can't imagine this happens too often. How do they determine what belongs to the "debtor" in a household shared by others?

[jq26]

I can't imagine this happens too often. How do they determine what belongs to the "debtor" in a household shared by others?

At least in PA, it works likes this:

The sheriff or constable takes or tags personal property for removal. The third party claiming it is theirs and not the debtors has to file an exemption, pay $15, and go to court within 48 hours to prove to the judge it is not the debtors but is indeed theirs. I've seen it firsthand, both as an outsider and as an insider.

To the OP- unfortunately for you, to my knowledge Indiana has a tenancy-by-the-entirety (TBE) presumption on real estate only. TBE property is property held jointly by husband and wife. A creditor of just one them cannot touch TBE property. So if titled jointly, your home would be safe from a creditor of his. But your belongings, even if owned jointly, are not.

Check state exemptions though. If you have modest belongings, everything you own may be exempt via state statute. But it is up to you to declare it exempt!!!

[Guest usctrojanalum]

It's becomming more and more popular now since people are unemployed and bank accounts do not have a lot of money in them. 5 years ago you never once saw these type of proceedings in a court. Now I probably see them on a docket 5 times a month or so.

[docniss]

Thanks for the feedback. I do know what is going on with the case, I handled most all of it and was in court with him each time, even the last time when the Plaintiff did not show only to have the sheriff knocking 4 days later. I also knew the info about not being able to attach the house if both our names were on the deed, but right now it is only my name on it. But I just didn't not know how it would be that property could be seized inside not knowing who it belonged too, I mean I am the one with the job right now, not him, so how in the world can he purchase things??? At this time this particular case is oik. the Plaintiff I am certain was out to prove a point, because we came to court prepared, even though husband lost, and we are still ticked that we have to pay them then they did not fix the item and we had to spend another $1000 to have it fixed so we have held any seizure of property at bay by making a p[pittance of a payment every month to the courts, I guess our passive aggressive way of sending them a message. Unfortunately the judge and plaintiff made it clear that they knew each other, from previous cases. Anyway, thanks jq26 and others for the info, I will look all that stuff up as he has a Cap 1 case pending against him right now.

I have gotten a lot of useful info from this site and recommend it to all I know that find themselves in a rough credit circumstance.

[jq26]

At least in PA, the sheriff will ask you to come in. If you refuse, then the judgment creditor (plaintiff) has to file additional paperwork and pay additional money for the sheriff to be able to get a writ to "break and enter" (ie come in without permission with force if necessary).

[DCusr]

How would you find out codes for state. If you are in a state w/ no community property I am curious what they do about joint property. Would the rules be listed under "property execution" for your state?

[jq26]

It is VERY state specific. You go to the laws of your state online and look for all of the rules that apply for levy of personal property.

Check your county sheriff's site. They have the downloadable forms, procedure, and fees. And you can do what I just did a few weeks ago: call the sheriff's office and talk to someone. You'll probably be better off asking them how to levy on personal property and then work in your "what if" scenarios.