You don’t owe anything. You can’t change anything in that account due to the hold, but the judgment is against your dad. The bank has a hold on the account because his name is on it, not yours. Even if fees start piling up on that account, you’re not responsible for them; you have no obligation to cover those costs since it’s not your debt.
@Shiloh
That doesn’t sound right. If the bank can put fees on the account then all account holders are jointly liable, according to the account agreement.
Actually, you don’t need to do anything. You won’t owe anything. I’ve dealt with these situations in Texas. Even if your dad doesn’t handle his mess, you’re not liable for that account. The garnishment is against him, not you. When a garnishment is issued, it goes to banks to tell them to hold anything in the account linked to your dad until it’s sorted out. If there’s no money, they just leave the hold until he resolves it or deposits something.
Just don’t spend any money trying to fix this; you’ll be fine.
@Thorn
Thank you for explaining how this all works. My lack of knowledge made me very anxious. I’m feeling a bit more secure knowing my accounts are separate.
You should get a lawyer to review your situation. If you’re not part of the lawsuit and the judgment isn’t against you, the only downside might be that you lost the $50. Just make sure you don’t have any other accounts with your dad. If you have anything else at that bank, don’t add any money to them.
@Merrick
No other accounts together. I don’t use PNC for anything else; I’m happy with Schwab now. I will consult an attorney to go over this, thanks.
Koa said:
@Merrick
No other accounts together. I don’t use PNC for anything else; I’m happy with Schwab now. I will consult an attorney to go over this, thanks.
Normally, I’d suggest hiring a lawyer, but you might not need one here given what you’ve shared. I deal with garnishments in Texas regularly, and you shouldn’t waste your money unless there’s something significant we’re missing.
@Rye
I really want to avoid hiring a lawyer unless absolutely necessary. My main worry is if I’ll end up with a record. Will this garnishment show on my record when opening new bank accounts? Will it affect my credit?
@Koa
No, the garnishment isn’t against you; it’s against your dad. Just check the paperwork, but as long as this is not a judgment against you, the only ones who will know about this joint account’s garnishment are you, your dad, the attorney, the bank employees involved, and whoever they might tell. Most importantly, the people on Reddit. 
The court papers should only have your dad’s name and those of his partners on them. If the bank tries any funny business or hits you with excessive fees, then definitely get a lawyer.
@Rye
I’m worried about fees, so that’s good news. If it weren’t for the kindness of others on here, I wouldn’t have gotten through today.
Maybe it’s time to sue your dad too.
Cass said:
Maybe it’s time to sue your dad too.
That would be something we’d all wish for.
Can your bank take money out of your account even if it’s not there? I get banks allow overdrafts, but no bank would approve an overdraw of over $200,000. I think your bank just shows the total amount they’re holding for the garnishment.
I’ve never seen garnishment take more than what’s in the account. If that happens, then someone definitely mismanaged it. Think about it: if they took all that and you died, then the bank would be on the hook for it since the debt isn’t yours.
@Blayne
Something doesn’t add up here. If you had that much in your account, maybe the IRS could put a hold on it. If you owed a judgment, I could see a bank following a court order to pay someone. No bank is going to pay out $200,000 without funds in the account just to put you in the negative.
Is it really four accounts garnished for $200,000 each? That’s insane. You can look up court documents to get all the details around this. I vote you get a lawyer to protect yourself, especially since your dad’s lying. It’s not fair to drag your kids into this mess. You might need to pursue legal action against your dad. If he filed your SSN without your consent, that’s a case of identity theft. You need to explore your options carefully to avoid debts that don’t belong to you.
@Indigo
The court documents only list the dates, so they don’t provide detailed information. I found out my uncle was served a writ of discovery because they were looking for information about my dad’s business, and he was an employee. That’s how I found out he might be sued for around $2.5 million. My dad has truly put us in a bad spot. I’ve been keeping my distance from him, but now I might cut all ties.
@Koa
To be fair to your dad, he probably forgot about those joint accounts as well.
@Koa
Your dad may need to file for bankruptcy to get out of this. I’d also be concerned that the bank would report this to ChexSystems or EWS. That negative info could mess up your future account openings. You can get a report from those companies.
@Koa
If lawyers get involved, try to avoid contact until it’s sorted. Once this is over, it should be fine. Just be careful and wise in the future about financial matters with him.
@Indigo
In Texas, wages can’t be garnished.