Can Property Be Seized to Pay Unsecured Debt in Arkansas?

If you have a credit card with a balance, then you have unsecured debt. If you have used utility services in your home, then you have unsecured debt. In the United States, we all have unsecured debt, and sometimes we fall behind on payments. Creditors do not usually seize our property because we have fallen behind on payment. Whether your property can be seized for unsecured debts in Arkansas depends on certain factors.

Unsecured Debt

Normally, when you go without paying unsecured debt such as your credit card bill, your electric bill or your telephone bill in Arkansas, you keep your property. A credit card company does not ordinarily seize property that you purchased with your credit card. The telephone company does not go into your home to retrieve the telephone that you purchased, and the electric company cannot go back in time to take away the electricity that you have already used, or take away appliances used with it. Each of these companies can prevent you from using their services going forward, and each has certain remedies under law.

Secured Debt

When you have secured debt and miss a payment, you may reasonably find yourself becoming concerned that someone is going to seize your property. That is because when you incurred the secured debt, you signed a contract saying that if you do not pay the debt, the secured creditor can come in and seize certain property. In the matter of a car loan, for example, the car itself is collateral for the debt, and the creditor legally can seize, or "repossess" the property for nonpayment. This factor is consistent across all states, including Arkansas.

Interest in Property

Because the creditor to whom you owe an unsecured debt does not have a security interest in your property, that creditor cannot normally seize your property if you fail to pay that debt. An unsecured creditor can, however, take steps that could enable it to seize your property under certain conditions.

Judicial Remedies

An unsecured creditor could sue you in an Arkansas civil court. If the unsecured creditor sues and obtains a monetary judgment against you, then the unsecured creditor can demand payment from you. If you do not pay the unsecured creditor, the creditor can go back to the court to obtain a writ of execution. The writ of execution would enable an unsecured creditor to seize your property. Once the property has been seized, the unsecured creditor can sell the property and pocket the money as a remedy for your failure to pay.