Bank account being seized for a judgment

Could a joint bank account be seized for a judgment against only one spouse in the state of California?

Thank you,
Britney

In most states it is possible for a joint marital account to be levied by a judgment creditor even when only one of the couple is the debtor. The exception would be those states which allow marital accounts to be protected under Tenancy-By-The-Entirety. (TBE) If a joint account is seized the joint holder must file a motion with the court to have funds belonging to them returned, if there is no proof as to the amount belonging to the non-debtor the state's default laws will apply. In community property states the entire account of a married couple is subject to a judgment levy, w/o recourse for the either spouse's funds being returned.

For example in Florida married couples generally hold property as Tenancy By The Entirety, meaning they both own the entire amount of jointly titled property or assets which cannot be partitioned without both agreeing to the action. TBE is sometimes successfully applied to joint marital accounts unless the account is designated differently, such as Joint Tenants. Creditors have been somewhat successful in levying joint marital accounts because Florida does not have a specific statute (nor default law) designating such accounts as having TBE protection. What it usually comes down to is how the presiding judge interprets TBE law as it applies to marital accounts. The good news is a judgment levy of a marital bank account is usually dismissed when a Motion to Quash is filed by the defendant/debtor.