Filing for Retrieval of exempted assets

[rachelellen]

My husband had to file for bankruptcy due to a lawsuit judgment against him. Within the 90 day time limit, the lawyer for the suing party cleaned out his bank accounts. That money was judged to be exempt. Due to a misunderstanding, my husband did not complete the necessary debt management class on time, and the case was closed without discharge. The requirement has since been filled and my husband's lawyer is filing to reopen.

His lawyer sent a letter to the suing party's lawyer demanding return of the funds levied within 15 days (that was3 months ago, and we've not heard anything). Now my husband's lawyer has asked him how much money he is willing to spend to recover the funds, as I guess a lawsuit to recover them must now be filed. Every time we call his lawyer with a question, we get another bill, and naturally enough, since our savings were cleared out, we don't have a lot of money to offer.

Can we file such a lawsuit ourselves? If so, is it very difficult to do? And would doing so significantly hurt our chance of retrieving the funds?

Lastly, I know this is difficult to say without knowing all the details, but what is it likely to cost us to have the lawyer do this for us? The suing party certainly has the money to return to us, so that isn't a problem. Unfortunately, they also have more money than we to try and fight the exemption if that is possible.

Thank you.

 

[rachelellen]

Has anyone any information for me? I know I asked many questions, but I really am at sea.

 

[calalily]

I guess no one has answered because we don't have an answer and I am sorry that no one has been able to help you. The other party is waiting you out and probably figures you don't have the money to pursue it. The court clerk may be able to help you and let you know if you can file on your own. Have you googled "How to file a civil lawsuit" there may be answers on a site. You may try and add your state name to the question as the procedures may vary from state to state. Also a university will have law books that you may refer to (can't be checked out) to help you navigate the system. I wish you the best of luck and sorry no one was able to answer your questions.

 

[rachelellen]

Thanks for responding calalily. I am in California if that helps anyone who might know something about how to proceed. I personally would rather have our lawyer take care of it, but he seems to be very vague about what our chances are and how much it will cost us...other than to say that the law is very "clear" on this matter.