If you’re looking for a bankruptcy attorney in Scranton, you probably aren’t shopping around for fun. You’re dealing with a mortgage that’s behind, a lawsuit from a credit card company, a wage garnishment, or a tax notice you can’t pay — and you need to know what your options actually are, in plain English.
We’re JPPLAW — the Law Offices of Jason P. Provinzano, LLC. Our office is in downtown Wilkes-Barre, just down I-81, and we represent bankruptcy clients throughout Lackawanna County: Scranton, Dunmore, Dickson City, Throop, Moosic, Old Forge, Taylor, Archbald, Carbondale, and the surrounding communities. Consultations are free, we offer after-hours and weekend appointments, and most of what a Scranton client needs from us can be handled by phone and video. And if you’d rather sit down face to face, Jason meets Scranton-area clients in Scranton by appointment — just ask when you call, and we’ll set a time. You do not need a lawyer with a Scranton address to file a strong case — Lackawanna County bankruptcy cases are handled in the same court, under the same rules, as ours are every week. What you need is a lawyer who knows how that court and its trustees actually work. That’s the practice we’ve built for more than 15 years.
Here’s the part most Scranton residents don’t realize until someone explains it: there is no separate bankruptcy court for Lackawanna County. Scranton is in the federal Middle District of Pennsylvania, and Lackawanna County cases are assigned to the court’s Wilkes-Barre division. Your case is filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, at the Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, and your case number will start with a “5:” — the Wilkes-Barre division’s prefix. Our office is a short walk from that courthouse.
The one meeting every filer attends — the meeting of creditors, called the 341 meeting — no longer requires a trip anywhere. For Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases filed since September 2023, the U.S. Trustee holds 341 meetings by Zoom video conference. You attend from home, with photo ID and proof of your Social Security number, and we prepare you for exactly what the trustee will ask. In the rare case an in-person meeting is required, the alternate location for this area is the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Scranton.
Everything else about your case — the automatic stay that stops your creditors, the exemptions that protect your property, the discharge that wipes out qualifying debt — works the same way for a Scranton filer as for anyone else in the Middle District. The local details above are the only real differences, and we handle them for you.
Chapter 7 is the chapter most people picture when they think of bankruptcy: a fresh start that wipes out most unsecured debt — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, old utility bills, and balances left over after a repossession. A typical Chapter 7 case runs about four months from filing to discharge, and the protection from creditors starts the day you file, not the day you finish.
Qualifying turns on the means test, a formula that compares your income to the median income for a household your size in Pennsylvania. Those median figures are set by the U.S. Trustee Program and updated twice a year. If you’re below the median, you generally qualify. If you’re above it, the test takes a closer look at your expenses — and many people above the median still qualify once the full calculation is run honestly. We run your numbers before anything is filed, so you know where you stand.
The other question everyone asks — will I lose my house or my car? — is answered by exemptions. Pennsylvania is one of the states that lets you choose between the state exemption list and the federal exemption list, and the right choice depends on what you own. The federal list is often better for protecting cash and includes a wildcard exemption; the state list sometimes wins for certain real estate. Most people who file keep everything they own — but picking the wrong list can cost you property, which is why we do that analysis up front, not after the fact. Full details are on our Chapter 7 bankruptcy page.
Chapter 13 is a repayment plan, and it’s the chapter that saves houses. You make one monthly payment to the Chapter 13 standing trustee, who distributes it to your creditors under a plan the court approves. For the entire Middle District of Pennsylvania, that standing trustee is Jack N. Zaharopoulos, who has served in the role since May 2021. The plan lasts three to five years. At the end, whatever is left unpaid on your general unsecured debts — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans — is discharged.
Chapter 13 does two things at once for a homeowner who is behind. First, filing triggers the automatic stay, which stops a foreclosure or sheriff’s sale in its tracks. Second, the plan gives you the full length of the plan — up to five years — to catch up the mortgage payments you’re behind, a little at a time, while you resume your regular monthly payment going forward. No lump sum. As long as you stay current on both, the mortgage company cannot take the house.
Chapter 13 also handles problems Chapter 7 can’t: it can pay delinquent property taxes and recent income taxes through the plan, stop a car repossession and pay the loan off over time (sometimes at the car’s actual value, if you bought it more than 910 days before filing), and protect equity that Chapter 7 exemptions wouldn’t cover. Our Chapter 13 bankruptcy page walks through the details, and our bankruptcy overview compares the two chapters side by side.
Two different sale systems threaten Lackawanna County homes, and they run on different clocks:
Sheriff’s sales (mortgage foreclosure). The Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Office sells foreclosed homes at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton, normally at 10:00 a.m. on scheduled sale dates published through the year. These are mortgage and judgment sales — the bank is on the other side of the auction. A bankruptcy filing before the sale stops it cold under the automatic stay. A filing after the hammer falls usually cannot undo it. If you have a sale date, the calendar is the whole case: call before it, not after.
Tax sales (delinquent property taxes). The Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau — not the Sheriff — sells properties for unpaid taxes. Delinquent taxes accrue interest at 9% a year, and once taxes are two years delinquent, the property is exposed at the Bureau’s Upset Sale each September. A property that doesn’t sell there can later be sold at a Judicial Sale the following spring, free and clear of liens. Filing bankruptcy stops a tax sale too, and Chapter 13 can spread two years of back taxes across a three-to-five-year plan while the stay keeps the Bureau from selling. Some older income tax debt can even be discharged outright if it meets the timing rules — our guide to bankruptcy and tax debt explains how that works.
General information only — not legal advice for a specific situation.
With the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, in its Wilkes-Barre division — Lackawanna County is one of the counties that division serves. Your case is filed at the Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre (that’s why Middle District case numbers for this area start with “5:”), and the judges and trustees who handle Scranton cases are the same ones we appear before every week. We handle the filing for you; you never have to figure out the courthouse on your own.
Almost certainly not. The one meeting every filer attends — the 341 meeting of creditors — has been held by Zoom video conference for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases filed since September 2023. You attend from home, show photo ID and proof of your Social Security number on camera, and answer the trustee’s questions with us beside you (virtually). In the rare case the U.S. Trustee requires an in-person meeting, the alternate location for this area is the Nealon Federal Building in Scranton — not Wilkes-Barre.
In most cases, yes — the moment your case is filed, the automatic stay stops foreclosure and sheriff’s sales, even one scheduled at the Lackawanna County Courthouse that week. Timing is everything, though: you must file before the sale happens. Once the house is sold at sheriff’s sale, bankruptcy usually can’t undo it. If you’re staring at a sale date, don’t wait — call us and we’ll tell you honestly whether filing in time can save the house, and Chapter 13 can then give you up to five years to catch up what you’re behind.
Yes. The Tax Claim Bureau exposes properties to its Upset Sale each September once taxes are two years delinquent, and bankruptcy’s automatic stay stops that sale the same way it stops a foreclosure — again, only if you file before the sale date. Chapter 13 then lets you pay the delinquent taxes through your plan over three to five years instead of all at once. And if what you owe is older income tax rather than property tax, some of it may be dischargeable entirely. Bring your notices and we’ll sort out which kind of tax debt you actually have.
The standing Chapter 13 trustee for the whole Middle District of Pennsylvania — including every Lackawanna County case — is Jack N. Zaharopoulos, who took over the role in May 2021. You make one monthly plan payment to the trustee, and his office distributes it to your mortgage company, car lender, tax authorities, and other creditors in the order the court-approved plan sets. In a Chapter 7 case, your meeting is run by one of the district’s Chapter 7 panel trustees instead. Either way, we deal with the trustee’s office constantly, and we prepare you for exactly what they’ll ask and what documents they’ll want.
The consultation is free. You can meet Jason in Scranton by appointment, come to our Wilkes-Barre office, or talk by phone or video — whichever fits your schedule. At that meeting we’ll look at your income, your debts, and what you’re trying to protect, and tell you exactly what your case would cost before you commit to anything. In a Chapter 13, much of the legal fee is usually paid through the monthly plan rather than all up front, which is one reason Chapter 13 is within reach for homeowners who are behind but still working. If bankruptcy isn’t the right answer for you, we’ll tell you that too.
★★★★★
480+ five-star reviews on Google — rated 5.0 stars. A few words from bankruptcy clients we’ve helped:
“Jason is an absolute must for your bankruptcy needs. I went from being stressed, receiving lawsuits, to having all the weight lifted off me. Jason handled everything… and he sure did deliver and very quickly. The man doesn’t even rest on the weekends. Highly recommend. Jason, from me and my wife — we thank you!” — Joseph D.
“I had nowhere to turn. I had gotten divorced, lost the house, ended up in over my head. Mr. Provinzano and his office gave me a 2nd lease on my financial life… The professionalism and urgency to help me in my time of need was above and beyond. You won’t regret giving his office a call!” — T M.
“Jason saved me! I almost fell for one of those credit scams. He talked to me like a friend, made me comfortable. Then he fixed my life with no stress on me at all… Call him, it will be the best decision of your life.” — Claire M.
You don’t have to decide anything on the first call. You just have to know where you stand — what bankruptcy would stop, what it would protect, what it would cost, and what happens if you do nothing. That’s what the free consultation is for.
Call 570-822-5771 to schedule yours. Meet Jason in Scranton by appointment, at our office at 16 W. Northampton Street in Wilkes-Barre (open Monday through Friday, 9 to 5, with after-hours and weekend appointments available), or by phone or video — whichever is easiest for you. If you’re in Scranton or anywhere in Lackawanna County and the bills, the lawsuit, or the sale notice has already arrived, the time to ask is now — before a deadline makes the decision for you.
General information only — not legal advice for a specific situation.
16 W. Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
Phone: 570-822-5771 · Toll-free: 888-JPPLAW-1
Email: MyLawyer@JPPLaw.com
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM · After-hours and weekend appointments available
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