A Notice of Rights to Have Exemptions Designated is a fancy way of the creditor letting you know that your property is going to be taken from you.
As mentioned in another blog post, after the creditor serves you with a lawsuit you have 30 days to provide a written response, also called an answer, which basically extends the amount of time you have until the creditor takes further action.
If you don’t respond to the lawsuit you will be served with a Default Judgment, which simply states that you owe money to a creditor. Even if you do respond to the complaint by filing an answer the creditor will usually be successful on a summary judgment motion. This means the judge will decide that you don’t have a defense to owing the debt and they will find in the creditor’s favor.
After a creditor obtains a judgment against you, their next move in the collection process will be to serve you with a Notice of Rights to Have Exemptions Designated. You will most likely receive this paperwork similar to how you received the lawsuit and judgment, by the local Sheriff’s office or certified mail. When you are served with the initial lawsuit, it is in your best interest to go ahead and contact a bankruptcy attorney before a judgment is issued against you. However, this doesn’t mean if you have been served with a judgment and Notice of Rights to Have Exemptions Designated that filing for bankruptcy is not an option. It is absolutely still an option; you just want to take action sooner rather than later so you do not risk losing your property.
When you are served with the Notice of Rights to Have Exemptions Designated you will have a chance to list out all of your property and utilize specific exemptions in regards to what you can and cannot protect. However, the problem with doing so is that if you fail to list something or list it incorrectly protected, you run the risk of your property being taken from you. You also have a timeframe to complete the right to have exemptions designated document and get it filed with the court, which is 20 days.
Far too often, clients tell us “I have nothing for them to take,” but this is usually not the case. Many items are often subject to being seized such as land, house(s), car(s), bank accounts, etc. A creditor will take whatever they can get and are doing so to try an repay the amount you owe them. From our experience, many creditors feel by taking whatever they can from you, it not only gets your attention but will push the Debtor into wanting to make payments. What they are not considering is the emotional impact it can have on you and your family. If you are served with a Notice of Rights to Have Exemptions Designated and want to find out your options for protecting your property, you should contact a bankruptcy attorney immediately. This is because after the Notice of Rights to Have Exemptions Designated has been served and you’ve been given the 20 days to file a response, a Writ of Execution will be placed against you. This basically means that the Sheriff will come pick up, on behalf of the creditor, any goods that were not listed or protected. This is where the exemption documentation that you completed by listing out your property is so important. If the property is not listed correctly or not listed at all, you stand the high risk of the property being taken from you right then and there.
By filing bankruptcy an automatic stay goes into place, which stops the creditor (or Sheriff) from coming to seize any of your property.
It’s interesting how states differ on what they call it. In CA, it’s called Writ of Execution for Money.
Hey Jeena,
You’re absolutely correct. My sister was actually studying for the California Bar exam and mentioned several differences with California bankruptcy law. I hope you’re doing well and keep up all of your great work!
Damon Duncan
I need to know if my fathers dies an house is in his name an i don’t have the deed an it was not sign to give me the house an i told a family member they can live in it an fix it up but we will help an i don’t keep my part up can I ask them to move.
If the property is yours you can always ask the other person to leave. The key issue in your situation is whose name(s) are on the deed to the property. That person or those people have the right to decide who can stay in the house.
Hi,
Can you put 2 houses on the exemptions list?
HI, my mother passed away in February and her mail is forwarded to me and she received a notice of right to have exemptions designated and motion to claim exempt property(statutory exemptions). She didn’t own anything. Im not sure what to do since she is no longer here. Any advice will help. Thank you.
Ali,
First, I’m sorry for your loss. Second, I would recommend getting a death certificate and sending it along with a copy of the bill to the creditor. If she doesn’t have anything and does not have an estate after her death then the creditor cannot collect anything unless someone else cosigned on the debt. Good luck!
I do not remember getting any other papers about this writ of execution before they did this to my savings account. I live in PA. I do not have anything for them to take. Own nothing, get social security and im under the understanding they can’t touch that. Im not really working but maybe 2 hours or so of work a week. Don’t even know who this about. What debtor i owe. Cannot get a hold of the lawyer that did the wri of execution. He does not answer the phone and mailbox is to full to leave a message. Cant afford to file bankruptcy. Don’t know what to do or what kind of lawyer i need to get other than a free one. Have no money to pay one. What should i do?
If your money from work is co-mingled with your Social Security money it could be at risk. If you don’t have any assets then you may be judgment proof and they may not be able to do much. You may want to reach out to someone at Legal Aid and see if they can assist you.