Getting a Pennsylvania judgment is not enough to collect debt and money owed to you or your business. Obtaining the judgment is only the first step in the debt collection process. However, most attorneys can obtain judgment against debtors and defendants who do not respond to lawsuits. This is called the default judgment and is often the easiest part of the collection process.

Step 1: How to Execute Upon the Judgment

What to Do Once You Have a Judgment

Pennsylvania does not allow wage garnishment except in certain landlord / tenant cases and only skilled Pennsylvania Debt Collectors know what to do after the judgment is entered.

There are limited options in Pennsylvania to enforce and execute upon judgments. Basically, Pennsylvania creditors have 5 options:

1. Garnish and seize bank accounts;
2. Garnish money owed from third parties;
3. Sheriff levy and sale of vehicles;
4. Sheriff levy and sale of personal and/or business property;
5. Foreclosure of real property.

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Step 2: Choose the Best Execution Strategy

Determine what execution strategy will work best for your situation.

Each Pennsylvania county has different local rules for enforcing and executing upon judgments. Choosing the best execution strategy is important so as not to waste client’s money. The last thing most of our clients want to do is throw good money at bad money. Skilled Pennsylvania collection attorneys also need to understand how marital property and claims for exemption can affect execution of judgments.

At Flaherty & Fardo, we often perform crucial discovery in aid of execution, including interrogatories in aid of execution and depositions in aid of executions to best ascertain the financial solvency of the debtors. This experience in executing and enforcing upon judgments gives our clients the best advantage of collecting their money owed.

To learn more about how to collect a judgment and the advantage to having Flaherty & Fardo in your corner, contact us today for a free consultation.

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