Statement of Financial Affairs: Question 4

This is the fourth in a series of blogs about the Statement of Financial Affairs and the questions it asks.

Question 4 of the Statement of Financial Affairs asks for information about suits and administrative proceedings, executions, garnishments and attachments. What sort of things need to go here?

* If you sued anyone and the suit has been active at some point during the 12 months before your case was filed;

* If anyone sued you and the suit has been active at some point during the 12 months before your case was filed;

* All administrative proceedings. This could include MVA/DMV actions, an action involving a license, a proceeding before an administrative agency, etc.

* If a wage or account garnishment was filed or in effect during the 12 months before your case was filed;

* If any account or asset was garnished.

* If you’re married, regardless of whether your spouse filed jointly with you, you list all such matters involving your spouse during the 12 months before your case was filed;

For each suit or proceeding, you need to list the caption of the case and the case number, the nature of the proceeding, the court and location, and the status or disposition. An example would be:

American Express Centurion Bank v. Mary Jones [this is the caption]
Civil No. 0012345-2009 [this is the case number]
Credit Card Collections [this is the nature of the proceeding]
District Court for Montgomery County, Maryland [this is the court and location]
Pending (or Judgment Entered) [this is the status or disposition]

For garnishments and attachments, the information you need to list is somewhat different. Here, you need the name and address of the creditor, the date of seizure, and a description and value of the property seized. An example would be:

(For property)

American Express Centurion Bank
P.O. Box 981540
El Paso, TX 79998-1540
May 19, 2009 [date of seizure]
1999 Chevrolet Chevette [description of what was seized]
$350.00 [value of property seized]

(For Garnished Wages)

American Express Centurion Bank
P.O. Box 981540
El Paso, TX 79998-1540
March 23, 2009 to May 19, 2009 [dates of seizure]
Wages [description of what was seized]
$350.00 [total amount garnished]