Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Monroe County, PA

Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings for Monroe 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 Monroe 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 Monroe County creditor the moment the case is filed.

Monroe County sits in Pocono Region, with Stroudsburg 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 led by Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono, ESU (East Stroudsburg University), Sanofi Pasteur, Camelback/Kalahari resorts, and a heavy NJ/NY commuter base. That shows up directly on the debt schedules I prepare here — a typical Monroe County filing includes LVH-Pocono, ESSA Bank & Trust, and HOA assessments from Pocono planned communities.

Monroe is full of large Pocono planned communities (Big Bass, Penn Estates, Pocono Country Place) where HOA dues and septic issues regularly contribute to filings. The pressure that most often pushes Monroe County households into a Chapter 13 case is HOA assessments, septic/well repairs, and NJ-commute income loss.

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

Monroe 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 — Monroe County filers almost never appear in person at Wilkes-Barre.

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