Can my wages be garnished? That may be the number one question that I receive at my office from individuals who are facing a credit card or debt collection lawsuit.
In Pennsylvania, the answer is no, with conditions. Pennsylvania is one of only four states (at the time of this writing) that does not allow wage garnishment for credit card/collection agency lawsuits. Let me explain the conditions now. First, the individual must live and work in PA to be protected. Second, and this is a big one, the lawsuit must have been filed in Pennsylvania as well. If you can meet all three of the listed criteria, your wages cannot be garnished here in our state.
What is unclear is what happens if you are sued in another state? Or if you live in PA now but previously lived in another state where judgment was entered? There is not a whole lot of case law on interstate debt collection regarding Pennsylvania. There is also a bit of a conflict in the law here. Pennsylvania does not allow wage garnishment for this type of debt. However, the federal Full Faith and Credit Clause sets forth that all states must honor the judicial rulings of other states. On the other hand, our state Attorney General, although not the final arbiter on the issue, has set forth an opinion that this clause is contrary to Pennsylvania law on this issue and that wage garnishment are not permissible. A final decision needs to be rendered on this recurring subject.
Unfortunately, the fact that wage garnishments cannot occur in PA does not stop unethical debt collectors from making such a threat. That is the basis for the telephone calls to my office. Joe Debtor has defaulted on a credit card account. His account gets transferred to a collection agency. The collection agency then calls Joe and demands payment. When he advises that he cannot afford to pay, the collection agency threatens a wage garnishment. There are two problems with such a threat. The first is that the threat cannot be carried out because wage garnishment is not legal in PA for those purposes. The second is that the debt collector has just violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based upon his illegal threat. If this happens to you, you will have the right to file a lawsuit against the collection agency for monetary damages.
There are a few scenarios where wage garnishment is legal in Pennsylvania. These are very limited in scope and are as follows:
1) for judgments regarding spousal or child support;
2) for failure to pay PHEAA student loans;
3) for room and board for 4 weeks or less;
4) for back rent on a residential lease; and
5) for obligations relating to a final divorce distribution.
By: Greg Artim
Posts Tagged ‘Judgment’
Pennsylvania Wage Garnishment Law
April 22nd, 2010Divorce and Family Law Case Update
November 20th, 2009Cost of Living Increase
Evidence presented to the trial court indicated that the cost of supporting a child had substantially increased and that defendant’s income had substantially increased so as to enable him to pay this additional amount; in light of this evidence it was error for the trial court not to order the defendant to pay modified amount plaintiff sought for child support.
Death of Obligor Subsection (c) of this section provides that the obligation to support, unless otherwise agreed in writing or provided in the judgment, will survive the death of the parent obliged to provide child support and seeks to protect the dependent child of divorced parents from loss of support through disinheritance, a loss from which a child of non-divorced parents is indirectly insulated.
An order under 750 ILCS 5/513 for education and maintenance of a child, whether of minor or majority age, is intended to be included within subsection (c) the same as a support order and is not terminated by the death of a parent obligated to pay for these expenses. An order of support for a non-minor child, although only to be granted under special circumstances under 750 ILCS 5/513 is the same as any other order of support and does not terminate upon the death of the parent obligated to pay the support unless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly provided in the judgment. Subsection (c) authorize modification of child support, when a parent obligated to pay support dies, “to the extent just and appropriate in the circumstances”; however, no modification of a support order is warranted where the decedent has adequately provided for the children.
No modification of a support order is warranted where the person obligated to pay support has adequately provided for the children in a testamentary device. Subsection (c) of this section seeks to protect the dependent child of divorced parents from loss of support through disinheritance, a loss from which a child of nondivorced parents is indirectly insulated; a divorced parent is still free the disinherit a child of his divorced marriage, subject only to the limited obligation of support. Since an original decree made no provision for support of the minor children by the father, the former wife’s petition filed after the father’s death constituted in effect an effort to enforce a claim against plaintiff’s estate for child support unrelated to the divorce decree, and, since the death of the plaintiff rendered it impossible for the trial court to enter any personal decree against him, there could be no basis for granting relief provided by an amended decree under former Ill.Rev.Stat., ch. 40, para. 19.
Delayed modification
Where at the time the petition for modification was filed, the defendant was receiving his full salary, he had incurred additional expenses because of a heart attack, but he had also recently received an inheritance, the trial court properly found that reduction of his alimony and support payments was not justified at the time of the filing of the petition, but that a modification was justified effective six months later.
Determination
Support should be determined by accommodating the needs of the children with the available means of the parties.
By: David Siegel
