If I sell a vehicle on Ebay through Pay Pal, can creditors attach the the funds. I have no bank account.

Avvo Question: My wife and I are both 68 and on Social Security. My wife is disabled, I lost my job 4 years ago and we owe credit card debt which we can’t pay, savings are depleted.

I want to sell our vehicle to pay for living expenses and pay the deductible for my wife’s hip operation.

I’m trying to sell the vehicle on Ebay and the buyer wants to deposit funds in Pay Pal to pay for the vehicle. Can creditors attach funds deposited in Pay Pal?

Avvo Answer: The short answer to your question is Yes a creditor can attempt to get funds from your Paypal account as Paypal is much like a bank in that way. However, if the creditor that you are worrying about doesn’t have a judgement against you, it would be impossible for them to take money out of your Paypal account as a creditor must have a judgement against you in order to get money out of your account. The buyer probably wants to use Paypal to pay you as he gets some limited insurance on his purchase from you by using it. Plus, Paypal is a great way to boost his confidence in a sale from eBay.

If there is no judgement against you then you have absolutely nothing to worry about with using Paypal, if there is a judgement against you, it is doubtful that the creditor will look there for money from you. They definitely will not look there first and since you can withdraw funds from Paypal almost immediately, it may be the way to go.

I hope that this answered your question and that you found the information helpful.

Answered By:

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Mesa, AZ 85202
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Re-Published from AVVO Legal Questions and Answers.