Frozen Assets
(CBS)
Waverly Taliaferro, 70, of New York, testified last week before the Senate Finance Committee about a financial foul-up that threatened the health and well-being of himself and his wife. His story, unfortunately, is not unique.
He retired in 2001. In 2003, his wife lost her job, leaving the two of them totally dependent on his monthly Social Security check. Soon, they fell behind paying their credit card bills.
In 2006, Taliaferro’s creditors obtained a judgment and froze his Citibank account. What’s the problem? Well, the account was not supposed to be frozen. Federal law exempts specifically exempts Social Security, veteran’s benefits and similar "safety net" payments from garnishment.
Taliaferro found out his funds were frozen when he tried to withdraw money from the ATM to buy groceries. The next day, he found an attorney with South Brooklyn Legal Services who wrote a letter to the bank, explaining that the sole source of Taliaferro’s funds came from Social Security.
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