Posted by JT-IN on July 08, 2008 at 19:11:27:
Not an Atty nor am I familiar with IL law, so take this for what it is worth… just my opinion.
The fact that your name is on the account doesn’t or shouldn’t make ALL the funds fair game. It should be classified as a Joint Tenants account, and based on what you state, there being 3 names on the acct, they should only be entitled to 1/3rd of the account balance.
One other point, that house you were buying… that wasn’t going to happen… just as soon as the title company discovered the cert judgment against you, there would be NO loan and NO closing. So better to find out now than days before a closing.
Unfortunately, allowing things to “play out” is the worst approach when dealing with creditors. The defense is a good offense, meaning that you can often settle these things for the 1K that you refer to, but not after they discover assets or the ability to pay exists. Whether or not they learned something from the convo with your Father that day at court, who knows. Keep in mind that they are in the biz of collections, not coming to nicey-nice agreements. The coyotes are not below lying straight out to you, if they think they can collect as a result.
Also, the time to challenge these things is way before this reaches the point of a judgment. When the suit was active, you should have had an Atty file an answer (response to the suit) on your behalf. This would have potentially precluded the judgment from going into effect, and the Atty would have been able to secure an agreement for payment. (Not that this is going to change the outcome for you, but it may for someone else reeading this info).
Best thing you can do now is get an Atty working on this asap to stop the release of funds from the acct. Unfortunately the Atty will want a stiff retainer up front at this point, to enter into the shark infested waters.
Good luck on the outcome.
JT-IN