Freezing Bank Accounts

[InTheMiddle]

Dear Soc--

In a previous post you advised: "I know this, for sure -- I would empty every bank and brokerage account into cash immediately, because opposing counsel will try to freeze your accounts, so as to deprive you of money, and force you to settle -- all in the child's best interests, of course"

1)  Under what conditions can the courts freeze your bank accounts?

2)  Can opposing counsel freeze them just to make your life miserable?

[socrateaser]

>1)  Under what conditions can the courts freeze your bank
>accounts?

Legally, the person requesting the freeze, must testify, either in court or in an affidavit, that he/she or the child(ren) will suffer irreparable harm if the accounts are not frozen. This means that if you swear that you are afraid the other person will run off with your money, then you can obtain an order preventing them from removing any money from any of their bank/brokerage/retirement accounts.

Once you have such an order, by faxing it to any financial institution in which the restrained person has an account, that institution will be on "notice" and will freeze the account, until further orders of the court.

In PRACTICE, courts do this all the time, and on much less than a showing of irreparable harm, and attorneys frequently use this as a method of getting the person who has most of the assets, to settle quickly -- by "starving them out," so to speak.

>2)  Can opposing counsel freeze them just to make your life
>miserable?

Oh yeeeeees!

[InTheMiddle]

Thank you very much for that information.  Just one more question, though.

1)  If you have automatic withdrawls, like your mortgage, and its all thru the same bank, will that affect them as well?

2)  If not, will all automatic withdrawls still go thru?

[socrateaser]

>1)  If you have automatic withdrawls, like your mortgage, and
>its all thru the same bank, will that affect them as well?

A frozen account is FROZEN. No transaction of any kind can take place without further orders of the court.

>
>2)  If not, will all automatic withdrawls still go thru?

Same question as above, phrased differently. Same answer.