Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

Not in Pennsylvania with some exceptions. There is garnishment for some things like child support, tax debt or back rent owed to a landlord. But there is no wage garnishment for credit card debt.

There is one caveat - this is assuming that you work only in Pennsylvania (your employer is located there) and this is a Pennsylvania judgment. If your employer is located in a state that recognizes wage garnishment and if the judgment is entered in or transferred to the same state where the employer is located then the creditor may be able to garnish wages. Also, some state governments will honor garnishment orders entered by the courts of other states.

Just so you know, there are only 4 states without wage garnishment: PA, NC, TX & SC. All the rest - VA, MD, WV, OH, NY, NJ & DE all have it and have different provisions concerning the garnishment.

While you may not need to be worried about wage garnishment, there are very few exemptions in PA (a Bible, clothes, work uniforms and a sewing machine). There is NO exemption for land or motor vehicles or bank accounts (anything over $300 can be seized). Things owned jointly with a spouse are safe if only one spouse is named in the lawsuit/judgment. If you are not married but your house/land and vehicle are liened then these things are also probably safe from garnishment.

So you need to think about how you are going to resolve the judgment if you have assets that may be at risk.

Depending on who the creditor is, it may be possible to settle the debt in a lump sum for approximately 50% to 80% of the balance owed as of now (many things affect settlement so without knowing more details these are just averages and your circumstances may vary). If you have at least 50% of the debt, I would try to resolve in a lump sum. If you have assets that are at risk, then you may want to enter into a payment arrangement or possibly file bankruptcy.

If you are interested in resolving the debt outside of bankruptcy, I would be happy to discuss your options with you. Email consults are free; there is a charge for a phone consult. Please contact me at [email protected] if interested.