New Rules on Bank Account Garnishments

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has recently enacted new Rules of Civil Procedure that will protect exempt resources, such as social security, from being garnished or attached.

The new rules protect funds that are "on deposit in a bank or other financial institution in an account in which funds are deposited electronically on a recurring basis and are identified as funds which upon deposit are exempt from attachment."

The ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court brings the Commonwealth into compliance with federal laws which provide that funds disbursed under federal programs are not subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law.

The new rules were the result of a collaborative effort from a group of legal aid advocates from around the state. The group included law workers from Northwestern Legal Services, MidPenn Legal Services, North Penn Legal Services, Neighborhood Legal Services Association, Community Legal Services, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and the Community Justice Project.

You can view the new rules at www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol37/37-8/304.html