The financial impact of COVID-19 can be felt across the world, but for one Nebraska woman, the struggle to provide for her family was reaching its breaking point.
"Danielle"* is a single mother raising a small child with another on the way. She was laid off during the coronavirus pandemic and, with her daycare closed and no one to care for her child, hasn’t been able to get another job. The financial strain has left her behind on rent and utilities.
Fortunately, Danielle received her CARES Act stimulus check in April and was able to buy groceries, but just as she was about to pay her electrical and rent bills, she checked her bank account and found it empty.
A creditor had successfully garnished Danielle’s stimulus check through her bank account because of a past debt. Former roommates of Danielle’s had stopped paying rent after she moved out and the accrued debt has followed Danielle ever since. The creditor seized $1,350 from Danielle’s bank account at a time when she needed it most.
Danielle made the right decision by calling Legal Aid of Nebraska’s COVID-19 Disaster Relief Hotline. Her case was immediately assigned to Legal Aid attorney Lea Wroblewski, who was able to appear telephonically before the court and achieved a positive outcome for Danielle. The funds were determined to be exempt from garnishment because she had less than $5,000 in personal property. The judge ordered the money be returned to Danielle.
Because of these quickly changing times, Legal Aid is more important than ever. In Danielle’s case, Wroblewski was able to appear by phone and file electronically – two things Danielle wouldn’t have been able to do since a pro se person isn’t allowed to e-file and can only attend hearings by telephone if he or she knows how to request it.
“We are considering bank garnishments an emergency,” Wroblewski said. “People need all the money they have right now. We’re able to handle the case quickly and without the client or our staff risking exposure.”
By handling cases in this way, Legal Aid is helping our clients keep their desperately needed funds, while also keeping the community at large safe by decreasing the amount of people in the courts.
*Name has been changed to protect client's identity.
Image: stock image used to protect the client's identity and privacy.
