You may have experienced a financial hardship and now are deciding whether to file bankruptcy in Pennsylvania. We are sorry to hear that you are needing to read this article right now, but our goal is to explain how everything works, so you can decide whether bankruptcy is right for you. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Filing Bankruptcy in Pennsylvania
- Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 in Pennsylvania
- Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Pennsylvania
- Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Pennsylvania
- Cost of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Assistance
- Pennsylvania District, Court, And Trustee Information
- Alternatives to Bankruptcy in Pennsylvania
Filing Bankruptcy in Pennsylvania
You’ll notice from the table of the contents that we focus specifically on Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Why? Because these two types of bankruptcy are the most common bankruptcy in America (source). There are other types such as the Chapter 11 and Chapter 11 subchapter 5 bankruptcies, but these are far less common for consumers (source).
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is also known as the liquidation bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also known as wage earner’s plan. We will cover these in greater detail
Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Filing Process
The bankruptcy filing process in Pennsylvania is similar to other states. Generally, the process is as follows for Chapter 7 bankruptcy:
- Understand bankruptcy qualification
- Decide whether to file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13
- Decide whether to hire an attorney
- Take the Credit Counseling Course
- File Bankruptcy Petition and Other Forms
- Pennsylvania trustee is assigned to the case
- Attend 341 Meeting of Creditors (Pennsylvania court locations below)
- Take Second Mandatory Debt Education Course
- Receive Bankruptcy Discharge
Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 in Pennsylvania
Chapter 7 bankruptcy: In Chapter 7, you are at risk of your nonexempt property being sold and used to pay off debts. It’s generally meant for those who cannot afford to pay little to any of your debt. It’s often less expensive than a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and you can receive a discharge within 120 days. It stays on your credit report for 10 years.
Chapter 13: In Chapter 13, you reorganize your debts similar to a debt settlement program. Your property above the exemption is often not sold as you may be able to protect your assets. It’s often more expensive than a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and you generally will receive a discharge in 3 or 5 years. It stays on your credit report for 7 years.
When your debt is discharged, this means that you are not required to pay that debt back.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy Pennsylvania
As Chapter 7 is the most common consumer bankruptcy filing, we will cover this bankruptcy first. In order to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you have to go through means-testing. The means test was added to the Bankruptcy Code in 2005 to prevent bankruptcy fraud. The income requirement for Pennsylvania helps ensure that a person with a sufficient income to pay back some of the debts may file a Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7.
Pennsylvania bankruptcy means test
The first part of the means test is to calculate your current monthly income. A Pennsylvania bankruptcy means test calculator can help you estimate whether you qualify for a Chapter 7 below or above the median, which is to say that you may qualify for a Chapter 7 even if your income exceeds the median in Pennsylvania, which is why a means test calculator may help.
If you want to do a ballpark estimate, you can estimate your current monthly income by taking the last 6 months of your income and dividing by 6. You will then be able to compare that figure to the Pennsylvania means testing data for cases filed on or after May 1, 2020. You would add $9,000 to the annual income for any individuals in the household greater than 9 people.
Means testing for Pennsylvania
| # of People | Annual Income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $57,213 |
| 2 | $70,577 |
| 3 | $87,217 |
| 4 | $103,857 |
| 5 | $112,857 |
| 6 | $121,857 |
| 7 | $130,857 |
| 8 | $139,857 |
| 9 | $148,857 |
Pennsylvania bankruptcy exemptions
We will cover Pennsylvania bankruptcy exemptions next because you may qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, but wonder whether they are going to come over and try to sell all your assets.
Firstly, in Chapter 7, you may be worried about losing your vehicle (non-luxury). Often a vehicle can be reinstated with a car payment in Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pennsylvania. Here’s a link to the Pennsylvania bankruptcy exemptions.
It’s important to note that Pennsylvania does also utilize the federal exemptions.
Please also note that you may want to check the Pennsylvania government website for a complete list of Pennsylvania bankruptcy exemptions and up to date information.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy Pennsylvania
Chapter 13 bankruptcy Pennsylvania is a payment plan bankruptcy where your debts are reorganized via the bankruptcy court, often in a 3 or 5-year payment plan. One of the most important questions is determining your monthly plan payment. Once you have a sense of your plan payment, you compare that payment to your current monthly obligations to see whether you may afford Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Debt settlement is often an alternative to a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For a deep dive on Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may want to check out the article titled Chapter 13 Pennsylvania
Chapter 13 Payment
One of the most important things for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is determining whether you can afford the Chapter 13 plan payment and comparing it to your current monthly obligations. There are various bankruptcy forms that can be used to estimate your Chapter 13 plan payment, but we found the easiest way is to use the Pennsylvania Chapter 13 Calculator which uses bankruptcy forms to help estimate plan payment.
Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Assistance
You may be wondering what sort of bankruptcy assistance is available in Pennsylvania. Let’s go through some of the options.
Pennsylvania Legal Assistance:
You may be considering filing bankruptcy in Pennsylvania and wondering what sort of legal assistance is available. You may want to check out any of the following options:
Cost of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 in Pennsylvania
Any important question that you are probably asking yourself is what is the cost of attorney fees, filing fees and whatever other costs are associated with bankruptcy.
- Attorney Fee: Often different cities and counties in Pennsylvania will have different attorney costs, including variability of cost based on experience. You may want to check out a Pennsylvania bankruptcy cost calculator to estimate the cost for your zip code.
- Filing, Admin and/or trustee surcharge fee: The fee for Chapter 7 is $335 and the fee for Chapter 13 is $310 (source).
Pennsylvania Districts and Courts
Eastern District
- 601 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106 - 504 W. Hamilton Street
Allentown, PA 18101 - 201 Penn Street
Reading, PA 19601 - 101 Larry Holmes Drive
Easton, PA 18042-7722
Middle
- 235 N. Washington Avenue
Scranton, PA 18503 - 228 Walnut Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101 - 240 West Third Street
Suite 218
Williamsport, PA 17701 - 197 South Main Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
Western
- 17 South Park Row
Erie, PA 16501 - 700 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219 - 208 Penn Traffic Building
319 Washington Street
Johnstown, PA 15901
Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Trustees
Here are the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees in Pennsylvania and the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy trustees in Pennsylvania.
Chapter 7 Trustee(s) in Pennsylvania
| District | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Terry P. Dershaw | (484) 897-0341 |
| Eastern | Lynn E. Feldman | (610) 530-9285 |
| Eastern | Bonnie B. Finkel | (856) 216-1278 |
| Eastern | Robert H. Holber | (610) 565-5463 |
| Eastern | Gary F. Seitz | (215) 238-0011 |
| Eastern | Christine C. Shubert | (609) 938-4191 |
| Middle | Steven M. Carr | (717) 843-8968 |
| Middle | Mark J. Conway | (570) 343-5350 |
| Middle | Lawrence G. Frank | (717) 234-7455 |
| Middle | Leon P. Haller | (717) 234-4178 |
| Middle | John J. Martin | (570) 253-6899 |
| Middle | William G. Schwab | (610) 377-5200 |
| Middle | Robert P. Sheils, Jr. | (570) 587-2600 |
| Middle | Markian R. Slobodian | (717) 232-5180 |
| Middle | Lawrence V. Young | (717) 848-4900 |
| Western | Eric E. Bononi | (724) 832-2499 |
| Western | Natalie A. Cardiello | (412) 276-4043 |
| Western | Rosemary C. Crawford | (724) 443-4757 |
| Western | John C. Melaragno | (814) 459-5557 |
| Western | Tamera Ochs Rothschild | (814) 827-2760 |
| Western | Robert B. Shearer | (814) 580-0232 |
| Western | Jeffrey J. Sikirica | (724) 625-2566 |
| Western | Robert H. Slone | (724) 834-2990 |
| Western | Joseph B. Spero | (814) 836-1011 |
| Western | Lisa M. Swope | (814) 472-7151 |
| Western | James R. Walsh | (814) 536-0735 |
| Western | Pamela J. Wilson | (412) 341-4323 |
| Western | Charles O. Zebley, Jr. | (724) 439-9200 |
Chapter 13 Trustee(s) in Pennsylvania
| District | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | William C. Miller | (215) 627-1377 |
| Eastern | Scott F. Waterman | (610) 779-1313 |
| Middle | Charles J. DeHart, III | (717) 566-6097 |
| Western | Ronda J. Winnecour | (412) 471-5566 |
Alternatives to Bankruptcy in Pennsylvania
You may be reading through this and wondering what are the alternatives to Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The most common alternatives are debt management, debt settlement, and debt payoff planning. Each of these options have pros and cons, so doing your due diligence is important. You can also feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions whatsoever.