Protecting cash prior to filing/judgments

[Grumpy2]

My CC accounts will be hitting the collection agencies within 2 weeks. I have heard horror stories of surprise judgments where the debtor was not properly served or unrelated bank accounts were frozen by improper actions. Is there any benefit to moving enough cash to cover rent and necessities for a month to a lock box? I presume I would need to take care to keep receipts and make sure the amount is fully disclosed. Is that step even necessary? The cash should be entirely exempted since we have few assets.

Thanks.

[LadyInTheRed]

If you are filing in a month, I wouldn't bother. Even if you are sued and you are not properly served, it will take a minimum of 30 days from the time the lawsuit is filed to get a judgment and that would be very quick. A collection agency will spend some time trying to collect from you before filing a lawsuit. After a judgment is entered, it takes more time to find and freeze an account. Just make sure you do not have money deposited with a creditor, especially if it is a credit union.

While those horror stories happen, if the creditor has your current address and you aren't trying to hide, it is unlikely that you would not be served with a lawsuit before judgment was entered. To be certain, you could search your local county court's website every couple of weeks to see if anybody has filed a lawsuit against you. Most California courts allow you to do a name search on their website. Tell me what county you live in and I can help you find the place to search.