Marshal's Notice of Execution

[NSH]

Here is a pssible consideration. What if I call th Marshal and ask them how much money per month would be the minimum I could pay to keep them from seizing my home contents? Say I agree to pay them $25.00 for (say for 4 months) and end up declaring BK before or right after that period ends?

Also, if I call them up, would they be legally required to answer me truthfully as to whether they have an order to break in or just knock?

One more question, regarding the contempt of court issue you brought up:

I am speaking hypothetically, of course now, but let's say that last week, when I got the letter, I already removed my most valuable possessions. Would I be in contempt of court? Again, I am only speaking hypothetically, not saying I actually did that! But to my knowledge, nobody has come to my house yet.

[backtoschool]

Here is a pssible consideration. What if I call th Marshal and ask them how much money per month would be the minimum I could pay to keep them from seizing my home contents? Say I agree to pay them $25.00 for (say for 4 months) and end up declaring BK before or right after that period ends?

Also, if I call them up, would they be legally required to answer me truthfully as to whether they have an order to break in or just knock?

One more question, regarding the contempt of court issue you brought up:

I am speaking hypothetically, of course now, but let's say that last week, when I got the letter, I already removed my most valuable possessions. Would I be in contempt of court? Again, I am only speaking hypothetically, not saying I actually did that! But to my knowledge, nobody has come to my house yet.

$25 a month is not going to keep them from coming into your house.

Call them on the number on the Ronald Moses letterhead and say you want to make payment arrangements, and see what number they come up with. You have nothing to lose by doing this if you do it from a phone number not associated with any personal information of yours.

As to contempt of court, you definitely will need to talk to an attorney about that. But the procedure for obtaining the property escalates until they get the court order to break and enter to obtain the property. You are not at that point yet.

You need to file bankruptcy as soon as possible to stop this, or you need to hire an attorney to stop it outside of bankruptcy. This is NOT going to go away. It is just one of the joys of being a debtor in a city that is so bank friendly.

The harsh nyc climate for debtors is one of the reasons I decided to move so quickly after my layoff and wait out my six month pre-bankruptcy planning period in Michigan.

[2manybills]

I did legal collections many years ago in California. That is the most absurd thing I've ever heard of. Usually, the only time a creditor can seize personal belongings is if they have a security agreement (like a Best Buy) or something like that. Most times you can only attach wages, bank accounts, things of the like.

Is there such a thing as a claim of exemption in NYC?

[backtoschool]

I did legal collections many years ago in California. That is the most absurd thing I've ever heard of. Usually, the only time a creditor can seize personal belongings is if they have a security agreement (like a Best Buy) or something like that. Most times you can only attach wages, bank accounts, things of the like.

Is there such a thing as a claim of exemption in NYC?

NYC is a brutal environment for debtors because of the marshal system there. Here are the exempt items from the marshal's handbook:

Section 5205 of the CPLR exempts certain personal property from application to the satisfaction of money judgments, except where the judgment is for the purchase price of the exempt property. Pursuant to this section, a marshal may not levy on, among other things, the following:

all stoves in residences and necessary fuel therefor for sixty (60) days;

one sewing machine with its appurtenances;

the family bible, family pictures, school books used by the judgment debtor
or his family, and other books not exceeding fifty dollars in value, kept and used as part of the family or judgment debtor's library;

a seat or pew occupied by the judgment debtor or the family in a place of public worship;

domestic animals with necessary food for sixty (60) days provided that the total value of such animals and food does not exceed $450;

food for the judgment debtor and his family for sixty (60) days;

all wearing apparel, household furniture, one refrigerator, one radio, one television set, crockery, tableware, and cooking utensils;

a wedding ring; a watch not exceeding $35.00 in value;

necessary working tools and implements, including those of a mechanic, farm machinery, team, professional instruments, furniture and library not exceeding $600.00 in value, provided these articles are necessary to the carrying on of the judgment debtor's profession or calling.



These are not the bankruptcy exemptions but are the exemptions of property that the nyc marshal can't seize and even those exemptions may be null and void (like the furniture and tv) if the items were paid for with money from the judgment creditor.

NYC is owned by banks.

[leena]

Capital One is completely nuts. File. File now. Do not stop, do not pass go. Just file. I owed Cap One a smallish amount (1,200.00) they were relentless. They extend credit easily and will go to any lengths on default.

[2manybills]

Wow bts, that is outrageous. I'm glad to see that they wouldn't take your pet. Isn't that nice of them?!

I agree to the OP, file, file now, do not pass go!

[iv65536]

Except that if I had an ill-tempered ostrich, when they show up I would simply state that I am not exempting the ostrich.

[NSH]

By the way, again, you guys are AWESOME and I thank you all!

Capital One is completely nuts. File. File now. Do not stop, do not pass go. Just file. I owed Cap One a smallish amount (1,200.00) they were relentless. They extend credit easily and will go to any lengths on default.

That's the master plan at this point, unfortanately, but my unfiled taxes are potential roadblock. I have three years I need to file, all of which my tax liabity should be very cose to zero since I ran a failing business for 06, 07, and part of 08. The problem is I cannot just sprint like a manic gazelle into H&R Block, because I have to file a Schedule C for the Coropration, and all sorts of other paperwork associated with the taxes for those years, not just my personal income tax.

Is it possible to retain BK attorney anyway and have him START the process while I get my tax filing butt in gear? It would be great if he could get all these creditors off my back, maybe file all the necessary paperwork and schedule the actual court dates, say for two or three months from now rather than in a month. Meanwhile I can start the filing process with the aforementioned relative who is a CPA and would probably help me out.

Because I just see no lightning quick way to get all of my tax stuff filed as quickly as I would like. I just need a 2-3 respite from my house being broken into while I set al this in motion. Argh, what a nightmare!

[music12]

another thing to think about before you call up this marshall is to make sure not to sound too worried about them seizing your property, because that would give them a big hint that there is something valuable in your home. right now they don't know whether you have anything of value, and they probably assume you don't. all they want is money.

and, angelinacathub, in the situation you described the person was trying to stop the marshall who was seizing a truck outside. if you try to interfere with an execution you could get arrested. however, if you simply do not open the door, then the execution was not yet in progress. i think that makes a difference.

wow, what an interesting thread!

[NSH]

I'm so glad my horrifying life and terrifying situation is a source of fascination and amusement to you, music12.

Nah, looking at this objectively, I am not really going to get pissy about that, lol. When I call them I am going to make it clear that I don't have a lot of valuables (which to be honest, righ now, I don't, except for my 3 year old computer, some furniture, and a ton of books from 4 years of college and 4 years of graduate school...oh and a lot of pots, pans, and some very nice cooking stuff) but that I want to avoid the embarassment of a seizure in front of my nosy neighbors.

Maybe that will sound desperate, and they will try to milk it, I don't know.

[backtoschool]

I'm so glad my horrifying life and terrifying situation is a source of fascination and amusement to you, music12.

Nah, looking at this objectively, I am not really going to get pissy about that, lol. When I call them I am going to make it clear that I don't have a lot of valuables (which to be honest, righ now, I don't, except for my 3 year old computer, some furniture, and a ton of books from 4 years of college and 4 years of graduate school...oh and a lot of pots, pans, and some very nice cooking stuff) but that I want to avoid the embarassment of a seizure in front of my nosy neighbors.

Maybe that will sound desperate, and they will try to milk it, I don't know.

I would not get into details with the telemarketing clerk who answers the phone. Just say that you received a letter and you want to make payment arrangements. See what they say.

If they come to your door when you are there don't answer.

You need the last three years of tax returns to file for bankruptcy in nyc, so as soon as you can slap those three years together, the better.

You will need a case number to keep the Marshall at bay, so you will need to have formally file to stop him.

[pookieny]

Geeze, sorry NSH. I wouldn't have thought that being in the same state, the laws would be so different. I would bite the bullet then and call them and see what you can pay to them to tide you over until you are able to hire a lawyer.

[NSH]

I will eventually do that, but before I do, for those of you who answered and said just don't answer the door, are you certain that they will try a few times to "knock" before breaking down my apartment door? Because it sounds like this might be a viable plan, maybe wait them out a little while at least in case I can get a bunch of the paperwork done quicker than I anticipate.

I would assume that if they come to my door for the first couple of times that they would leave some sort of a Marshal's notice stuck to it to "duly inform me" that they were there? I would also assume that if I ignored the first attempt before calling again (I called them once last week) I would be okay?

In addition, there ar two other factors:

1. I was speaking to my Dad about this and one of his friends went through something similar in Long Island, only this person had declared BK and was told they had to leave their house as it was foreclosed on and the Marshal would come to throw them out. From what my Dad said, this guy stayed in his house for six months and nobody came to knock on his door. In addition, when he talked to the Sherrif (in his town it is not a marshal) he was told that they were so backed up with debt property seizers because of the economy that it would be a while before they even got to him. He ended up leaving his house before anyone came to toss him. So I was wondering if the same thing is likely to happen in my case with the Marshal breaking my door down?

2. Along the same lines, I did have an initial conversation with the Marshal on the phone, or perhaps it was one of his colleagues, I don't remember. They were very nice about it and told me that if I declare BK just to forward them all the paperwork and that would be that. He also told me that it would likely be 40-50 days or more before they physically acted on this, I believe because they want to try to get at whatever assets I have that they can trace like accounts, property, real estate, etc. They don't know that I have nothing in this regard. Do you tink they were lying to me, perhaps to lull me into some false sense of security?

Thanks againb!

[backtoschool]

I will eventually do that, but before I do, for those of you who answered and said just don't answer the door, are you certain that they will try a few times to "knock" before breaking down my apartment door? Because it sounds like this might be a viable plan, maybe wait them out a little while at least in case I can get a bunch of the paperwork done quicker than I anticipate.

I would assume that if they come to my door for the first couple of times that they would leave some sort of a Marshal's notice stuck to it to "duly inform me" that they were there? I would also assume that if I ignored the first attempt before calling again (I called them once last week) I would be okay?

In addition, there ar two other factors:

1. I was speaking to my Dad about this and one of his friends went through something similar in Long Island, only this person had declared BK and was told they had to leave their house as it was foreclosed on and the Marshal would come to throw them out. From what my Dad said, this guy stayed in his house for six months and nobody came to knock on his door. In addition, when he talked to the Sherrif (in his town it is not a marshal) he was told that they were so backed up with debt property seizers because of the economy that it would be a while before they even got to him. He ended up leaving his house before anyone came to toss him. So I was wondering if the same thing is likely to happen in my case with the Marshal breaking my door down?

2. Along the same lines, I did have an initial conversation with the Marshal on the phone, or perhaps it was one of his colleagues, I don't remember. They were very nice about it and told me that if I declare BK just to forward them all the paperwork and that would be that. He also told me that it would likely be 40-50 days or more before they physically acted on this, I believe because they want to try to get at whatever assets I have that they can trace like accounts, property, real estate, etc. They don't know that I have nothing in this regard. Do you tink they were lying to me, perhaps to lull me into some false sense of security?

Thanks againb!

After looking at the Marshall's handbook yesterday, I think that they have to have a court order to break in, and that that will take some time. That would take several attempts, several notices, plus they would have to go to court and get the paperwork to break in.

So I don't think the threat of them breaking in is immediate.

But I certainly would not trust what vague things the clerks at the Marshall Mose's office say to you. If it is not in writing, I wouldn't trust it.

I do think that they are smoking you out to find low hanging fruit, such as voluntary payments, bank accounts, etc. They do not want to seize your used basketball kneepads and 10 year old crockpot.

[NSH]

Yeah lol I hear you, and their notice served to "put me on notice," if you catch my drift. Now I need to find a lawyer, and that is not going to be easy! I am getting all kinds of prices, not to mention half these guys don't know anything about tax laws and are operating under the assumption that my accountant is. They unequivocally believe it too!