Wells Fargo Strung 72-yr-old widow along during reverse mortgage app about working out time ext w/current mortgage holder Chehalis Washington

The following is from RCW 6.15.020 Pension money exempt Exceptions Transfer of spouse's interest in employee benefit plan. - From the Washington State Legislature site:

"(2) Unless otherwise provided by federal law, any money received by any citizen of the state of Washington as a pension from the government of the United States, whether the same be in the actual possession of such person or be deposited or loaned, shall be exempt from execution, attachment, garnishment, or seizure by or under any legal process whatever, and when a debtor dies, or absconds, and leaves his or her family any money exempted by this subsection, the same shall be exempt to the family as provided in this subsection. This subsection shall not apply to child support collection actions issued under chapter 26.18, 26.23, or 74.20A RCW, if otherwise permitted by federal law."

The exemption would not cover the situation your mother is in because of the manner in which the debt occurred.  In a way, your mother actually stole money from the bank by cashing a bad check; the only way to make the situation right was for the bank to take that action.  I understand the scam in which she fell for is a common one most rational people would not fall for; it's a pretty old scam.  I am also aware certain funds are exempt from collections like SSI and other Federal benefits, but a Federal Pension would not be one of those items.

The better course of action for your mother would have been for her to declare bankruptcy rather than the reverse mortgage; this would have stopped the sale of the home as well as preserve the pension and other benefits she receives.  At this point, there are no 'extenuating circumstances'; I mean you could try to get a real estate attorney to try and unravel the sale, but there isn't anything in your story that would indicate such a circumtance exists.

Your mother is in need of someone to oversee her finances.  It doesn't matter who in your family that might be, but it needs to happen.  I mean that should have happened much earlier because there is far more to this story than you are letting on (if you mother had a debt consolidation loan to begin with in the first sentence, something is VERY wrong).  Best of luck to you.

1.)    "....communication to the lender is the borrowers responsibility! You or your mother should have contacted the bank to get the extension!":

The trustee handles requests for time extensions, not the "bank".  (And my contacting them would have been meaningless as I was not on the deed of trust nor assosciated with the originating loan in any way.) Seems to me that an "ex-employee" of said "bank" would have already known that.  But then it also seemed that having an actual "Mortgage Consultant" for said "bank"; equipped with knowledge pertaining to financial lending laws and the like, communicating with the appropriate channels would surely be more beneficial than attempting the same on our own as we were unaware and uncertain of what/how to go about handling anything.  I guess we felt that once a mortgage consultant from her bank was "handling" her "case" that doing such things such as negotiating time extensions with the necessary entities was in fact..their RESPONSIBILITY....that is what they get PAID TO DO!

2.)    "....how are you going to blame the bank for taking the direct deposits?!?! This was her mistake!!!!": 

As I stated in my report, the direct deposits to my mother's checking account were derived from "my dad's death benefits and her social security benefits"...I should have stated that my dad's death benefits were from a United States Federal Government pension.  Both sources are exempt by law from collection.  Once again, I would have thought an "ex-employee" of said bank would have already known that.  I had thought that the employees of said bank at that time would have already known that as well! But then, I also naively thought that the employees at her bank at that time with their knowledge of financial procedures and such would have at least followed standard check cashing protocols and funds availabilty policies and not allowed the entire withdrawal of funds drawn on an out-of-state bank only hours after deposit...I guess because...once again....that is what they get PAID TO DO!

your mother fell for an old scheme that nobody in this day and age would would fall for. Just as well as she would have become a victim of the next shyster that came along promising something for nothing. Her misfortunes leading up to the auction of her house would have taken months and months. Where were you and the rest of her family while all this was going on? Move her in with you as she certainly is not capable of making even rudimentary decisions. All of this is obviously someone elses fault.

All I have to say is that communication to the lender is the borrowers responsibility! You or your mother should have contacted the bank to get the extension! Quit blaming everyone else for your loss and take responsibility!!! Also, how are you going to blame the bank for taking the direct deposits?!?! This was her mistake!!!!

All I have to say is that communication to the lender is the borrowers responsibility! You or your mother should have contacted the bank to get the extension! Quit blaming everyone else for your loss and take responsibility!!! Also, how are you going to blame the bank for taking the direct deposits?!?! This was her mistake!!!!

All I have to say is that communication to the lender is the borrowers responsibility! You or your mother should have contacted the bank to get the extension! Quit blaming everyone else for your loss and take responsibility!!! Also, how are you going to blame the bank for taking the direct deposits?!?! This was her mistake!!!!

All I have to say is that communication to the lender is the borrowers responsibility! You or your mother should have contacted the bank to get the extension! Quit blaming everyone else for your loss and take responsibility!!! Also, how are you going to blame the bank for taking the direct deposits?!?! This was her mistake!!!!

In addition to the before mentioned mortgage mess, Wells Fargo Bank's handling of the counterfeit check situation is appalling! My mother deposited the $2890 check into her checking account that she has had for 24 years, from back when Wells was 1st Interstate (as the "sweepstakes winner notice" sent with it had instructed her to do). Then she phoned the "sweepstakes winner notifying company" that sent her the check and informed them she had deposited it. The "representative" instructed her to withdraw $2700 plus western union fees and wire it to their office in London to cover processing of the winning claim.

Unfortunately, she did. Wells Fargo Bank allowed the withdrawal of $2800 from a $2890 deposited check written on a bank from another state only approx. two hours after the deposit. Kept every cent of my mother's income for two months to repay the debt created when the check bounced, offered to "help" her with her foreclosure and her checking account balance with a reverse mortgage that their mortgage consultant's incompetence and out and out lying has only "helped" her into homelessness, said in a letter that due to recent activity regarding her checking account that they had made a business decision to close her account for fear of possible future damage to Wells Fargo and my mother (but did not elaborate as to what activity nor what the possible damages were) and then......did not close her account....instead that let her go on believing it was indeed closed but in actuality they just kept taking her income deposited via direct deposit!