business bankruptcy now they are out for me

[whatnext]

Filed in 04 for Chapter 7 in Florida-for a business -now receiving notice that a credit card company is seeking judgement since I personally signed for the card although it was a business account with Wells Fargo.

I am presently employed in a commission job have no property, live with family, do own a 4 year car.

My questions is can they garnishee a 1099 -PA ??

What else can they do??

[phoenyx]

Filed in 04 for Chapter 7 in Florida-for a business -now receiving notice that a credit card company is seeking judgement since I personally signed for the card although it was a business account with Wells Fargo.

I am presently employed in a commission job have no property, live with family, do own a 4 year car.

My questions is can they garnishee a 1099 -PA ??

What else can they do??

How was the business organized? Sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, s-corporation, llc, etc?

Regarding the Chapter 7 in 04... I'm wondering if you personally filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, or if your business was incorporated or was an llc -- and if it was the business that filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

If you personally filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, was Wells Fargo listed as a creditor? Was this account listed as an account?

[Dollar Bill]

If the wells fargo account was listed in your C7, you should have nothing to worry about. They may be going after your c-corp, llc, s-corp whichever it may be.

I can't imagine if it were listedin the bk and you were even a sole prprietor you should be golden if it were listed in your BK.

[whatnext]

It was a s corporation and did not file personal as I had property that was not homesteaded. I have gotten rid of all personal property, I did name WF in the business chapter 7 as it was a corporate card, they are saying yes it was a corporate card and it is almost 4 years later but you signed for it personally.

[whatnext]

I went chapter 7 on my business which was a S Corp- the fact that it was a S Corp means I personally protected???Thanks for replying, any help is great.

[Dollar Bill]

From what I understand (which I plan to do), you need to file a personal bankruptcy. I have a c-corp. All lawyers I have met with recommend filing a personal C7 since everything was personally guaranteed. They mentioned that they will try to sue the corp, but that they recommended I go out of business. Get a job or start another corp. If I get tired of the headache, file a C7 on the corp. Thye also mentionmed that they could go after my wife at that point. It's crazy, but a break is needed. You need to file a C7 if you qualify.

[phoenyx]

Let me first state my understanding of your situation. If my understanding is wrong, please correct me, because the conclusions I come to later in this post would be invalid.

If I understand you correctly, you owned an S-Corp. This S-Corp opened a business account with Wells Fargo, which you personally guaranteed. The S-Corp filed Chapter 7 in Florida in 2004, and listed the Wells Fargo debt.


I'm sorry for the bad news, but if you signed a personal guarantee on the original Wells Fargo credit application, then you are liable for the debt until the statue of limitations runs out, or you have a personal bankruptcy that discharges it.

The S-Corp Chapter 7 facilitated dissolving the S-Corp, and making whatever appropriate last-minute payments to creditors back in 2004.

However, without filing personal bankruptcy yourself, the S-Corp's Chapter 7 does not release you from your personal liability from the personal guarantee. It only closed the S-Corp and effectively ended Wells Fargo's ability to seak payment from the S-Corp.

This applies to any debt that you personally guaranteed, that the S-Corp did not pay back -- until the statue of limitations runs out, or you have a personal bankruptcy that discharges it.


As for your question about a "1099-PA", I'm not sure what that is, maybe someone else can answer.


I would recommend contacting a bankruptcy attorney, if that sounds like the route you want to go with, right away for some free initial consultations to get more details about the situation.

[whatnext]

Thanks for your reply, I think that is where I am at, I will not qualify for a personal bankruptcy now, BUT I think in the State of Florida where I reside, we have a 4 year statue of limitation, my last payment was made 3-04 or 4-04 to Wells fargo, the court date is set for 5-04. Does anyone know if the statue of limitation rule applies if you have been notified that they are pursuing you before it runs out...What is strange is the other debts that were discharge through the C-7 have never come after me and I personally signed for them also. Just this one...

[whatnext]

To answer your other question- I receive a 1099 as I am on commission basis and I am a PA which is another form of corporation S or LLC. My thought on that is if they received a judgement can they try to garnish wages on a commission basis.???

[phoenyx]

To answer your other question- I receive a 1099 as I am on commission basis and I am a PA which is another form of corporation S or LLC. My thought on that is if they received a judgement can they try to garnish wages on a commission basis.???

I don't know a lot about statue of limitation details, maybe someone else can help you out on those questions.

I'm not familiar with the PA business form. If it is considered a seperate legal entity (like a corporation not like a sole proprietorship), the PA business might be shielded against garnishments and levies against you personally, unless they could somehow attach the PA business to the debt. If a PA business is more like a sole proprietorship or a DBA, then it wouldn't be shielded.

As for the garnishments, generally speaking, if a creditor obtains a judgment against you and that judgment isn't paid in the timeframe the court specifies (usually 30 days) then the creditor can go back to the court to get an order giving them the right to garnish your income or levy against your assets. If they obtained such an order, I think they could garnish payments made to you from whoever is paying your PA business. But, they would first need that judgment against you personally, and you would have to fail to pay in the specified timeframe.

That being said, they would have to know about who is paying your PA business to try garnishing those payments. I'm not sure if they could find this on their own or not. They can easily find bank accounts in your name. After they obtain a judgment, they would be able to depose you about any income you're receiving or assets that you have.

[whatnext]

A PA is a LLC- which is a professional associate- fancy term for a S Corp...
How do they find out where your bank accounts are?
I have been served Plaintiff's Interrogatories to Defendant with trial date set for May.
I really don't know what to do, the legal cost are probably going to amount to a few thousand, and I really do not have that either.

I am paid on commission and in real estate so I have not had a paid check since November, so I don't know how they collect that. Thanks

[phoenyx]

A PA is a LLC- which is a professional associate- fancy term for a S Corp...
How do they find out where your bank accounts are?
I have been served Plaintiff's Interrogatories to Defendant with trial date set for May.
I really don't know what to do, the legal cost are probably going to amount to a few thousand, and I really do not have that either.

I am paid on commission and in real estate so I have not had a paid check since November, so I don't know how they collect that. Thanks

Well, if a PA is an LLC, then it should be treated as a seperate legal entity different than yourself.

I'm not an attorney. Only an attorney could say for sure, but I wouldn't think that they could garnish or levy and of the LLC's income or assets -- unless they could make the claim that your PA LLC owes the debt.

In situations where I have been levied and garnished, everyone has gone to banks that I had made payments from in the past. They looked through debit cards used, checks written, automatic debits to checking accounts -- and got garnishment orders for those banks. Luckily, I had closed all my accounts with them already, so when those banks got the garnishment orders, all they could do was reply back saying "he doesn't have any accounts with us."

I wouldn't be suprised, either, if there is some type of background search system that can locate what banks have accounts associated with either a social security number, or an employment identification number. I'm not sure if such a system exists, or if it did, if companies could use it or if only government agencies could use it.

The other way to find out where your bank accounts are is through a deposition with you.

Regarding the trial date in May, I would recommend speaking with a bankruptcy attorney right away if you are considering going that route personally to discharge the personal liability from the debt they're going after you for. Many bankruptcy attorneys even provide free initial consultations. Otherwise, you could contact your local legal aid which might be able to provide you with free legal advice. Legal aid is a national association where attorneys legal assistance to low-income people for non-criminal issues. I'm not sure if their advice is always free, or low cost, but that might be a way to start.

I would definately either get a bankruptcy attorney's advice or another attorney's advice on whether to even show up to the hearing in May. There are advantages and disadvantages to showing up to a hearing, and only an attorney would be able to get into enough detail with you to help you decide which to do. This attorney could also provide you with better details on if they could go after your PA LLC for repayment of the debt.

[CindyLou]

If your last payment was in April 04 you need to get the court date delayed. The statute of limitations goes from the date of deliquency, so May would be cutting it close. You can answer the notice and object it and try to ask for another date. May someone on here can speak to how to delay a judgement. That is your best bet. Then at a later court date you will have to in and argue the statute of limiations has run out.

What the bank is trying to do is get a judgement BEFORE the SOL runs out because then the judgement SOL is 10 years.

They are really hoping for a default judgment in this case.....which is what happens if you do not answer the notice.