Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Lackawanna County, PA

Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings for Lackawanna County residents are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Chapter 13 is a 3–5 year repayment plan that stops foreclosure, lets you cure mortgage arrears, and pays priority taxes over time while discharging remaining unsecured debt at the end.

Chapter 13 is the right choice when you're behind on a mortgage, have non-dischargeable tax debt, have too much equity for Chapter 7, or earn too much to pass the Chapter 7 means test. Your plan payment is built from disposable income plus any arrears, priority taxes, and secured catch-up.

For Lackawanna County clients specifically, we run the Pennsylvania means test using current state median income figures, file electronically with the Middle District clerk, and the automatic stay stops every Lackawanna County creditor the moment the case is filed.

Lackawanna County sits in Northeastern Pennsylvania, with Scranton as the county seat, and its cases are administered by the Wilkes-Barre Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

The local economy is anchored by Geisinger Community Medical Center, Commonwealth Health Moses Taylor, the University of Scranton, and Prudential's regional operations. That shows up directly on the debt schedules I prepare here — a typical Lackawanna County filing includes Geisinger CMC, Commonwealth Health, Penn Security Bank, and Scranton single-tax-payer property-tax balances.

Scranton operated under PA's Act 47 financially distressed designation for over 25 years — many Lackawanna filers carry stacked city-services and EIT (earned income tax) arrears. The pressure that most often pushes Lackawanna County households into a Chapter 13 case is Scranton wage-tax and property-tax arrears plus medical debt.

In a Lackawanna County Chapter 13 we build the plan around the arrears that actually exist here — mortgage catch-up on Lackawanna County property, sheriff sales scheduled at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton, county and school-district property taxes, and PA Department of Revenue claims.

Lackawanna County bankruptcy petitions are filed in the Wilkes-Barre Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Filing location:
Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse
197 South Main Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
Clerk's office: (570) 831-2500

341 meeting of creditors: Held virtually by the Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 trustee assigned to your case — Lackawanna County filers almost never appear in person at Wilkes-Barre.

The drive from Scranton to Wilkes-Barre is rarely necessary — petitions are filed electronically and the 341 meeting of creditors is held by video.