Q: Do I need to file an exemption for wage garnishment if the wrong SS# was used in the original judgment?
A judgment was filed against me in 2014. I was unemployed and could not pay the credit card. I am now living only on Social Security. The original card owner was my husband but I used the card. The court documents show his social security number as mine. When I tried to call the collection agency for information prior to judgment they wouldn't speak to me because the SS# wasn't mine. The judgment went through naming me the owner of the card with my husbands SS#. Am I really responsible for the debt or is he? Until now,I haven't heard any more about the judgment. I got these in the mail: 1. Certificate of Service 2.Motion for Garnishment After Judgment 3. Writ of Garnishment 4.Claim of Exemption and Request for Hearing. How do I file an exemption? Must I have a hearing? What about the fact that this is all filed under the wrong SS#? I can't afford an attorney. Do I really need one for this? I am disabled and it is very difficult for me to get around. Is there a time frame involved?
A: You DO need to file an exemption, despite a wrong SSN being listed. You are not required to have an attorney, but it's best that you have one, and you may be able to get a pro bono attorney by contacting your local agency that provides free legal services for the poor. You appear to be in Ocala, and the agency to contact in that area is Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida. Their website is at https://clsmf.org/
A:
This is impossible to answer without reading the entire file. If jurisdiction was not properly invoked, or if you weren't a named defendant, or "if" a host of other issues exist you may not be liable. Social Security numbers have little if anything to do with debt, and almost less to do with positive identification.
Good Luck
d
A: Whoever made the mistake should correct it. I don't think you should pay to get it corrected.
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