Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Lycoming County, PA

Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings for Lycoming County residents are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Chapter 7 wipes out most unsecured debt — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, deficiency balances — in roughly 90–120 days.

To qualify for Chapter 7, you must pass the Pennsylvania means test, either by earning under the state median for your household size or by passing the long-form test after deducting mortgage, vehicle, tax, and insurance expenses. Federal exemptions protect a meaningful amount of home equity, one vehicle, retirement accounts, and household goods.

For Lycoming 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 Lycoming County creditor the moment the case is filed.

Lycoming County sits in North Central Pennsylvania, with Williamsport as the county seat, and its cases are administered by the Williamsport Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

The local economy is supported by UPMC Williamsport, Susquehanna Health, Lycoming College, Lycoming Engines, and Marcellus Shale services. That shows up directly on the debt schedules I prepare here — a typical Lycoming County filing includes UPMC Williamsport, Jersey Shore State Bank, and gas-services equipment-finance balances.

Lycoming filings are heard at the U.S. Courthouse on West Third Street in Williamsport — the Middle District's Williamsport division. The pressure that most often pushes Lycoming County households into a Chapter 7 case is gas-patch contractor income volatility and medical debt.

In practice that means we spend real time on the means test and on exemption choice before filing: judgments docketed in the Lycoming County Court of Common Pleas become liens against Lycoming County real estate, and those liens have to be dealt with by motion rather than by discharge alone.

Lycoming County bankruptcy petitions are filed in the Williamsport Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Filing location:
Herman T. Schneebeli Federal Building
240 West Third Street, Suite 290
Williamsport, PA 17701
Clerk's office: (570) 320-5255

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

Filing happens electronically from our office, so Lycoming County clients almost never need to travel even though the courthouse sits right in Williamsport.