W. J. Winterstein Jr.

A solo practitioner, I work from a home office in Boyertown, PA, about 30 miles from center-city Philadelphia, and most of my cases are litigated in Philadelphia and Reading courts. With the assistance of local counsel, I also handle matters in Delaware. I have over 30 years experience in both state and federal courts; bankruptcy and mortgage foreclosure/workout are a large part of my practice. There isn't much I haven't seen, or done. PLEASE CONTACT ME BY EMAIL FIRST, as that is my preference, and more reliable for each of us.

Oklahoma City University School of Law

J.D.

1974 - 1976

Honors: Graduated with honors, 2nd of 208, 1976

Attorney

Law Office of W.J. Winterstein, Jr.

1976 - Current

Over 30 years experience in bankruptcy reorganizations, out of court workouts, debtor/creditor, civil practice in all state and federal courts in PA, OK, with practice encompassing NJ and DE through local counsel. Admitted to Third Circuit, Tenth Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court, and all lower courts in PA.

PA Bar Association

member

2007 - Current

Eastern district of PA Bankruptcy Conference

Member

1992 - Current

Pennsylvania

• Free Consultation
  I am happy to chat with you about your issues, for no charge, for up to one hour.

Bankruptcy

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Debt Relief

Business Law

Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes

Collections

Foreclosure Defense

Consumer Law

Class Action, Lemon Law

Probate

Probate Administration, Probate Litigation, Will Contests

• General Civil

Q. Is okay to apply for credit during a Chapter 7 bankruptcy prior to discharge?

1 August 2021

A: Sure, you can try, but no lender out there that I know of will extend you credit until your discharge has been entered.

Q. Bankruptcy Ive a creditcard& a carpmt from same credit union. If I file can they sue me or can those be included in ch7

31 July 2021

A: No one can hope to prevail by claiming some sort of damage simply because you have filed for bankruptcy relief. If you meet the eligibility requirements for the bankruptcy chapter of your choice, you're bullet-proof from any such claims. However, it may be that some creditor may seek to have its claim excepted from discharge (the grounds for that are set out in the bankruptcy code), or the trustee or any creditor may file an adversary proceeding in the bankruptcy court seeking to deny you a discharge (the limited grounds for this are also set forth in the Code). Valid, perfected liens against any of your property are not diminished or removed by your bankruptcy discharge (unless the lien is somehow legally defective, or not "perfected"). You can expect that any credit card you have will be suspended or canceled almost immediately after you file a bankruptcy petition. And if you fail to make your regular payments on the vehicle loan, the CU will be able to seek relief from the automatic stay to repo and sell the vehicle. When you file a Ch. 7 case, you have three choices with respect to property you have which is subject to a valid lien: you can surrender the collateral in full satisfaction of the creditor's secured claim, "redeem" the collateral by paying off the lien amount in cash, or reaffirm the debt, in which case, if the creditor agrees to the reaffirmation, you keep the car and the payment obligation remains as a legally enforceable debt. If at all possible, seek the advice of bankruptcy counsel before you file a bankruptcy, and specifically, ask about your options for dealing with property subject to a lien.

Q. I am retired and have a timeshare loan that I can no longer afford. Thought about bankruptcy or just stop paying .

26 July 2021

A: Each state has laws identifying property which is exempt from attachment/garnishment by judgment creditors, and those lists, found in each state's statutes, vary. The IRS is not bound by those state laws, however. You can google "Connecticut exempt property", and that should take you to the answers for your state. Florida and Texas are renowned as "debtors' havens" because of their generous exempt property statutes.

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