How Long After a Bankruptcy Can You File Again

We get many calls from prospective and previous clients confused about their options to refile for bankruptcy following the discharge or dismissal of a prior case. The common questions are:

• How many times can you lot file defalcation? The time betwixt bankruptcies varies depending on the type of bankruptcy your originally filed. You tin generally re-file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy every 2 years and a Chapter seven bankruptcy every eight years.

• My case was successfully discharged but I need help again, what can I do?

• Is there a sure menstruum of time that I have to await earlier I can file again?

• Will I be penalized for re-filing?

• Take the laws changed since terminal time I filed?

It can be complicated and unfortunately nosotros have establish that some attorneys are actually misinformed themselves about what the rules are for re-filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter thirteen defalcation. There are a number of factors that go into how many times yous can file bankruptcy. Every bit long equally you come across the income requirements and were not previously barred by the courtroom, you should be able to refile later a few years. Continue on to read well-nigh the differences in refiling for Chapter 13 vs. Chapter 7 bankruptcies.

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Rules for Re-filing Bankruptcy

Refiling a Affiliate thirteen Bankruptcy or Filing a Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7 Discharge

Y'all can refile a Chapter 13 at whatever time as long as you meet the income requirements and were not previously barred past the court (this is very rare). By refiling a case, you have full courtroom protection from your creditors, including home foreclosure, vehicle repossession, judgments and garnishments, etc). Depending on the timing of your last case, nosotros may need to take an additional pace to ensure that this protection continues. We do this past drafting and filing a Motility to Extend Stay. Your income requirements and previous court rulings can decide how many times you can file bankruptcy.

The main difference when filing a Chapter thirteen after a Chapter seven or refiling a Chapter 13 case is eligibility for a court discharge of debt. A discharge allows you to legally eliminate any unpaid portions of your unsecured debt obligations (such as credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, loan deficiency debt, etc). The timing rules for obtaining a courtroom discharge are:

• iv years after the filing appointment of a Chapter 7 defalcation you lot are eligible to receive a discharge if you file a Affiliate thirteen debt consolidation plan.

• 2 years later on filing a Chapter xiii defalcation.
  Again, even if you are non eligible for a discharge based on a previous case filing, you can still file and benefit from full courtroom protection and reduced debt payments for the program elapsing.

Refiling a Chapter vii Bankruptcy

You tin file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy every 8 years from the appointment of your previous Chapter 7 filing date. You lot would need to ensure yous withal qualified to file based on other factors such as:

• Full household income;
• Equity and avails in your personal and real property;

Time Period Between Bankruptcy Discharges

Prior (Kickoff) Instance:	Chapter 7	Chapter thirteen
Current Type of Case/Chapter	Years Until Adjacent Available Belch
Chapter 7	8 Years	6 years, unless the plan in the prior case paid 70% or more to unsecured creditors
Chapter 13	4 years	2 years

Filing Dates Control: All time periods start and stop on the defalcation petition filing date for each case, except for cases converted from ane chap ter to another. The belch date is always irrelevant.

Sequent Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases:

If the debtor receives a Affiliate 7 discharge in the outset case, he/she will not be able to receive a discharge in a later on filed Chapter vii instance unless at to the lowest degree viii years pass between the filing of the bankruptcy petition in the first and second example.

Consecutive Chapter thirteen Bankruptcy Cases:

If the debtor receives a Chapter 13 discharge in the outset example, he/she will not be able to receive a discharge in a subsequently filed Affiliate 13 instance unless at to the lowest degree 2 years pass between the filing of the bankruptcy petition in the first and 2d case.

Affiliate 7 Followed by a Chapter thirteen:

If the debtor receives a Affiliate 7 discharge in the first example, and the second case is a Chapter xiii case, he/she will not exist able to receive a belch in the Affiliate xiii case unless at least 4 years laissez passer between the filing of the bankruptcy petition in the first and second example.

Affiliate 13 Followed by Affiliate vii:

If the debtor receives a Chapter 13 discharge in the first example, and the 2nd case is a Chapter vii case, he/she will non exist able to receive a discharge in the Chapter 7 case unless at least six years pass between the filing date of the bankruptcy petition in the first and second case.

Reasons for Re-Filing

Affiliate 13

• Previous Chapter seven filing: They successfully discharged from a Chapter 7 defalcation and demand debt relief and court protection once again, only practise not qualify to refile a Affiliate vii based on discharge timing or other qualifications. You tin file a Affiliate 13 defalcation immediately after a Chapter 7 discharge or dismissal. You lot are eligible for a Chapter 13 discharge of debts if it has been over iv years from the engagement of your previous Chapter seven filing.
• Discharge:Their previous instance was successfully discharged just they now need help once more with their debts and/or protection from their creditors. This could be due to:
  • Change in circumstances, such as an temporary loss of income, under-employment or a lawsuit.
  • Prior case did not or could non address all debt resolution goals. Refiling a bankruptcy is a viable selection complete all these efforts.
• Dismissal: The master reason for a Chapter thirteen case to get dismissed is due to chronically missed plan payments, failure to announced at the mandatory 341 court hearing (without discover or a valid reason) or missing documentation required by the Trustee or court (such as copies of tax returns, pay stubs, etc.)

If yous are facing a dismissal of your case, your chaser should be there to back up you in this process. Examples of steps our house takes to ensure a belch and avoid dismissals are:

• Annual example reviews to review payment history and monitor whatsoever changes in circumstances that might warrant a medication of the Chapter 13 program.
• Reminder calls and letters to client before all required hearings. If clients have a valid reason for missing a hearing, we promptly file an affidavit with the court to reschedule the hearing.

If you re-file within one twelvemonth, your attorney is required to file a movement petitioning the court to extend your court protection (the "automatic stay" protection) from creditors (foreclosure, etc.) beyond a 30 24-hour interval flow. The purpose of the "Move to Extend the Automatic Stay" is to demonstrate that your new case is filed in practiced faith. Motions need to be filed on time and supported by an affidavit by the debtor (drafted by experienced chaser) explaining the circumstances and why the new example presents a better opportunity to succeed.

There are certain circumstances that can bar a re-filing when a debtor voluntarily dismisses his or her prior instance. Further, a bankruptcy guess tin enter an social club barring the re-filing of a case if the gauge determines that the filer was abusing the system to hinder or delay creditors versus using it equally a tool to reorganize their debts. These orders are rare simply a client's eligibility to re-file will ever exist confirmed when meeting with our attorneys.
For all of these reasons, it is essential to work with an experienced law firm to refile a instance.

Affiliate 7

Y'all are eligible to file a Chapter 7 every eight years. The clock is reset from the time your case is filed, not discharged. The court does not require yous to narrate or explain your reasons for needing to re-file. If you lot did not receive a discharge (i.east., example was dismissed) afterwards filing a prior Affiliate vii, you lot may be eligible to re-filing a subsequent Affiliate 7 and obtain a discharge, depending on the circumstances surrounding your prior dismissal.

If you filed a Chapter seven and obtained a belch, merely fell into subsequent financial hardship within those eight years, y'all can file a Chapter 13 at whatsoever fourth dimension. This would provide you with:

• Legal protection from your creditors (collections, habitation foreclosure, vehicle repossession, etc
• Court-approved repayment programme
• Opportunity to remove a second mortgage on your habitation
• Ability to amend your credit throughout the repayment process.

If you file the Chapter 13 at least iv years later on the Chapter 7 filing, you can eliminate a portion if not the majority of your unsecured debt obligations (credit cards, medical bills, etc) every bit well as your second mortgage and received a courtroom discharge from those debts. If you did not reaffirm your second mortgage when y'all filed your Chapter 7, y'all may be able to remove the 2d mortgage from the belongings with the utilise of a Chapter 13 whether it has been 4 years since the Chapter 7 or non.

Get Help from Acclaim Legal Services

Equally you tin can see, there are many reasons why re-filing a bankruptcy may exist necessary and benign. Further, there are several variables and nuances that dictate when and what protections can be established by a re-filed bankruptcy.

Contacting an experienced defalcation attorney should exist your first stride in the procedure of exploring your options on how many times can you file bankruptcy. We offering free aforementioned-twenty-four hours bankruptcy evaluations.

Please call us toll complimentary at 866-261-82822 or schedule a consultation correct now.

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Source: https://acclaimlegalservices.com/bankruptcy/filing/how-many-times-can-i-file-for-bankruptcy.html

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