If I File Bankruptcy Once Can You File Again

How Soon Can Y'all File Another Bankruptcy?

by Christopher Hazlehurst, J.D. | Apr 03, 2022

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Every twelvemonth, hundreds of thousands of Americans file for individual defalcation. 2020 actually saw fewer bankruptcy filings than recent years, with around 520,000 as compared to the 750,000+ filings per year from 2016 through 2019. Regardless, the implication is articulate: Defalcation is incredibly mutual and reflects the realities of the modern economy. It'due south an important, if unfortunately necessary, legal tool for people to obtain debt relief and work toward fiscal freedom. For some debtors, nevertheless, a unmarried bankruptcy might not be enough to fully get their feet nether them. If you lot filed for bankruptcy already, how soon can you file again?

Technically, You Can File Once again Immediately, Simply You Can't Belch

Defalcation law does non actually fix a minimum period of time you must await before filing for bankruptcy a 2nd time. Technically, you could file for bankruptcy a week after receiving your initial Chapter vii bankruptcy discharge. In practice, however, in that location's little benefit to filing again and then soon.

Although you can file for subsequent bankruptcies without waiting, you will not exist eligible for the actual discharge of debt. The primary benefit of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is discharging your covered debt, leaving you gratuitous and clear to start fresh. Chapter 13, too, offers a pathway toward repaying a portion of your debt, with the remaining, covered, unpaid portion discharged at the end of the repayment period. If you are looking to discharge your debt, you lot will have to look the appropriate amount of time.

Which Chapter is Your Bankruptcy?

If you are considering bankruptcy for the 2d fourth dimension, you'll need to wait a sufficient corporeality of time from your initial case in club to obtain a second debt discharge. The amount of time you'll need to await depends on which type of defalcation you initially filed nether, and which type of bankruptcy you are seeking the second time effectually.

Assuming you are filing under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, which are the almost common forms of private consumer defalcation, the time limits are as follows:

• To file for a 2d Affiliate 13 bankruptcy after a previous Chapter xiii bankruptcy, yous'll need to wait two years.
• To file for a Chapter thirteen bankruptcy after a previous Affiliate vii bankruptcy, you'll need to wait four years.
• To file for a 2nd Chapter 7 later a previous Chapter xiii bankruptcy, you'll need to wait vi years.
• To file for a 2nd Chapter 7 after a previous Affiliate 7 bankruptcy, you'll demand to wait eight years.

The time limits showtime on your initial filing date; for instance, you can file for Chapter 7 a second time eight years subsequently initially filing under Chapter 7.

There are certain caveats, nonetheless, that can make life a bit easier. You don't need to wait the six years between your Affiliate 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings if you lot fully paid off your unsecured creditors during your Chapter xiii repayment period, or if you paid at to the lowest degree 70 pct of your claims, your programme was proposed in good organized religion, and you made your best endeavour to pay off all of your unsecured debts. If a greater chunk of your Chapter 13 debt was discharged, however, then you lot'll need to wait the full six years.

Moreover, if you did not receive a discharge in your starting time case, you can generally file again and receive a belch. If your initial case was dismissed, you may be able to file again after a court-mandated waiting menstruation. If your original discharge was denied by the court, you can file over again, but you likely volition be unable to obtain a discharge of the debt covered by your first bankruptcy.

Is information technology Worth Filing Once again Even Without the Discharge?

The discharge is not the only benefit to bankruptcy. Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy gives you additional time to pay off your debt while fugitive collection efforts such as wage garnishment. If you accept additional debt not covered by your original bankruptcy discharge, such equally student loans, alimony payments, or back taxes, a subsequent Chapter 13 defalcation can significantly lower your monthly brunt and give you either three or five years to get your finances under control. Filing for Chapter 13 soon afterwards Chapter 7 might as well help you avoid foreclosure if you're backside on your mortgage.

There are many reasons to file for defalcation and just as many approaches to finding the correct blazon of debt relief for your circumstances.

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Source: https://www.lawcommentary.com/articles/how-soon-can-you-file-another-bankruptcy

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