The attachment of assets terrifies those who have overdue debts. After all, one of the biggest fears of debtors is having their assets seized due to unpaid debts.

Letters, e-mails and several calls are often made in an attempt to negotiate or collect the amount to be received. Incidentally, it may reach the point where the company threatens to pledge the assets of the debtor, who is probably in a very difficult financial situation.

Furthermore, we need to point out that the attachment of assets is a very complex case. Therefore, you need to understand how to treat it and what to do in case of a legal dispute. In this article you will read the main points about the seizure of assets: what it is, when it can happen, if there are unseizable assets and especially how to avoid the seizure of your assets for a dirty name. 

Check below all the possible scenarios that put your assets at risk and also what the CPC (Civil Procedure Code) says about your rights.

First, we need to point out that justice defines attachment as a judicial instrument that allows the company to confiscate the debtor's assets. It aims to be a form of discharge of the debt of the individual who is being judicially executed for the amount owed.

Therefore, the pledge is a way to guarantee that the debtor pays his debt to the company at any cost. The property being removed from the debtor's possession with permission from the court.

The execution of the attachment depends on a judicial sentence with the fulfillment through the payment of the debt or as an ultimatum. By the way, in the case of the latter, most often it serves as a way of threatening the debtor to pay his debt as soon as possible.

Do not despair, therefore, the attachment of assets is not random and the creditor does not define it. But it follows an order based on article 835 of the Code of Civil Procedure, which you can see below:

“Art. 835. The attachment will preferably observe the following order:

I – money in cash or on deposit or investment in a financial institution;

II – public debt securities of the Union, the States and the Federal District quoted on the market;

III – bonds and securities quoted in the market;

IV – land vehicles;

V – real estate;

VI – movable property in general;

VII – self-moving;

VIII – ships and aircraft;

IX – shares and quotas of simple and business companies;

X – percentage of the billing of the debtor company;

XI – precious stones and metals;

XII – acquisition rights derived from promises of purchase and sale and fiduciary alienation in guarantee;

XIII – other rights”.

Keep Calm! Contrary to what many believe, there are few assets that can be seized. The assets that can be enforced by the creditor must be of a very high value.

Knowing this, your lender cannot threaten to confiscate your simple car or your only home. Be aware of your rights not to believe threats or experience unfounded embarrassment.

If the creditor files a lawsuit, he doesn't want to lose, so he possibly knows that you have a chance to pay the debts with the attachment of your assets.

But there are assets that under no circumstances can be seized, here we will list them all for you. The unseizable assets are:

The debtor's salary or any income that comes from work, retirement, pension and other income. Rest assured! The money that guarantees the maintenance of the debtor cannot be confiscated.

If the debtor has only one property, it cannot be subject to attachment. Except when he is the guarantee of a loan, or in case of overdue debts on the property itself, such as financing, IPTU, mortgage and even debts with domestic workers of the presidency itself.

These objects cannot be pawned as they are basic and essential items. With the exception of those who have high value or exceed the needs of an average standard of living.

Items of clothing or belongings for the debtor's personal use cannot be expropriated, as they also form part of the category of basic and essential objects. Only being removed from the debtor's possession if they have a high value.

Another essential item that cannot be taken away from the debtor are the instruments and furniture essential for the exercise of his profession.

If the family lives from the harvest, the rural property becomes an essential asset for the family's livelihood. In this case, the withdrawal of that good will not be allowed.

Calm down and we'll explain. This amount can only be confiscated by the creditor if it exceeds the value of 40 minimum wages. So, if you have less than that amount in savings, it cannot be withdrawn.

Life insurance is an unseizable asset, as your destiny is not executed in you, but your heirs and other beneficiaries. Therefore, it is not a pawnable asset.

Even if an asset is unseizable some exceptions apply.

For example, the savings account and the debtor's income can be pledged when the execution is for alimony. 

If the debt was caused by the acquisition of an asset that cannot be seized, the rule does not apply to it. Which can therefore be pawned.

Incidentally, Article 833 also provides exceptions for assets used in the work of the debtor, allowing that, in a specific situation, these assets may be seized.

Be aware of your rights, your creditor cannot do what you want. Always choose to pay your debts, especially after negative. So, when an attachment of assets is appealed, there are many exhausting processes that you will need to go through, so avoid more headaches and clear your name now.

Goods of any kind, whether movable or immovable, can only be pledged when and if there is a debt.

There are then many types of debt, there are several ways that a creditor can resort to get his money back when the debtor refuses to pay.

When a loan is granted for the purchase of a property or a car, these same goods are sought to be pledged. But in the case of debts with a credit card or overdraft, there is no good to serve as collateral, so everything falls on the amount of interest, which is very high. And when there is no payment, your assets go into the lien so that your debts are paid.  

In order for the attachment to be made, there must first be a collection action made in court by the creditor. In other words, a lawsuit between the creditor and the debtor. It is important to highlight that the attachment of goods is one of the last measures that the supplier has to charge the debtor. Therefore, it only happens in situations where there are no alternatives.

The debtor has not paid his debts to the creditor, in which case he files a lawsuit against the debtor. Showing the existence of the debt and aiming to get the value back. As a last resort, if there is no payment in the process, the creditor, for example, asks the judge to seek the amount in the account or to seize some property of the debtor.

We will explain below a step by step on how the attachment of goods happens:

According to the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), when the collection action is initiated, the following steps take place.

The request may be initially requested from an existing debt, called through an extrajudicial enforceable title, such as the contract.

This judicial enforceable title is a document that determines the purpose and exact limits of the debt that is intended to be collected in the enforcement action. It aims to enable a party to file a lawsuit forcing the execution of the judgment, thus having the state the right to intervene in the debtor's assets, so that the creditor has as payment what is owed to him.

In this case, with the presentation of the document, the debtor is called to pay the amount owed within 3 days after being requested to be part of the process.

But if there is no evidence or documents proving that the creditor is entitled to the amount he is charging, the initial request will initiate a verification phase to prove the existence of the debt. And if approved, only then is it possible to demand payment.

Whether with an extrajudicial enforcement order or with a lengthy process that involves verification to prove the debt, the debtor has the full right to defend himself.

It is even a right enshrined in the Federal Constitution itself. It has the function of ensuring that the debtor is heard in the process.

After the presentation of the defense, if the judge comes to the conclusion that the payment still needs to be made, the debtor will have a certain deadline to do so.

So, in the case of an extrajudicial title, the debtor has a period of 3 days to make the payment, counting from the moment he is requested to continue the judicial process and is called to make the action.

Already in the process of knowledge, which concerns the calculation of the debt. When the judge decides to collect the debt from the creditor, the latter must ask the debtor to pay the amount within 15 working days.

Finally, we remind you that if payment is not made within the stipulated period, the debtor may pay fines and fees from the opposing party, increased by 10% each.

For both cases, the attachment occurs whenever the debtor fails to pay the debt recognized in the process.

We can understand the attachment as the “last hope” of the creditor to receive the amount owed. For this can only be granted as one of the last alternatives.

First of all, we emphasize that every consumer, whether he is a debtor or not, has rights when it comes to charging amounts.

Therefore, even before a lawsuit or the attachment of goods, the consumer has rights as to how to carry out the collection.

In addition, you have the right not to be charged abusively, the company you owe cannot disrespect your dignity.

Furthermore, calls at inappropriate times and having your debtor status disclosed are examples of what the creditor should not do. These are basic and, therefore, fundamental rights of the defaulter.

In addition, during the attachment process, the debtor has the right not to have the asset pledged in any way.

Faced with the need to pawn assets to pay debts, it is important to know that any consumer can go through this. And the pledge can be made from a debt with any company.

Remembering that if the attachment is requested, the debt must be legitimate. That is, duly proven and known by the debtor himself.

Another important point: assets can be pledged as a means of paying debts only when there is a lawsuit, following all the steps that we explained earlier.

It is important that the lawyer representing one of the parties in a judicial foreclosure with a certain amount of debt, understands well how the seizure of assets works. To assist your customer in the best possible way.

Therefore, it is of paramount importance for the debtor that the unseizable assets are pointed out as soon as possible to the court, in situations where the debt cannot be paid monetarily. Failure to declare an asset as unseizable can be quite costly for the debtor.

So, did you like to learn about assets that can be pledged to pay off debts? Keep following our content and answer all your questions about the financial market.