An account seizure is not a verdict but a formalised procedure with debtor protection built in. The state deliberately leaves you the subsistence minimum: a starving debtor pays nothing at all. Your task is to activate that protection — it does not switch on by itself.
Account Seizure: What Happens and the Deadlines
A creditor with a court title blocks the account through your bank. You have a one-month protective window — act, and your living money survives.
✓ Verified: 18/07/2026
WHAT TO DO
› Details and tips
👨🏻💻
Max recommends:
I did not panic, I dated it: found the garnishment order date in the bank letter — all protective deadlines run from it. Conversion works even AFTER the seizure, retroactively to the month start.
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Lea recommends:
Do not open escape accounts in panic: hiding assets is a criminal risk, and the next order seizes the new account. And address the cause: dunning and enforcement orders preceded it — never received (a move!), the title can be attacked.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
My salary arrived after the seizure — frozen too? ▾
On a normal account yes. On a P-Konto every monthly income is protected up to the allowance — that is the whole point.
Can the bank just hand over all my money? ▾
Without a P-Konto yes — after the moratorium it must transfer everything to the creditor. That is why conversion is step one, before any dispute about the debt.
How much stays safe despite the seizure? ▾
A monthly basic allowance is protected automatically on the P-Konto; for dependants, child benefit and social payments more is added on proof. The exact amounts and certificates are covered in the allowance step.