If you are in financial distress and thinking about filing for bankruptcy, one concern you might have is whether you will be allowed to file. Because let’s face it, if you cannot pay all of your bills you want to be sure that you have a solution, and if bankruptcy is not an option you will have to keep looking. So it becomes extremely important to know whether your request to file a case will be granted, or if the Court can block you from filing.
It is uncommon to be denied the right to file bankruptcy, but it can happen. The most common way to get a case dismissed is by having a prior filing too close in time to your current filing. Here are the rules on how often you can file for the protection of bankruptcy:
• You can file a subsequent Chapter 7 case only if 8 years from a prior Chapter 7 case has passed.
• You can file a new Chapter 13 case two years after the date you filed a prior Chapter 13.
• You have to wait four years between a Chapter 7 discharge and the initiation of a Chapter 13 case.
• If you want to file a Chapter 7 case after having filed a Chapter 13 case, the wait time in between cases is six years.
The idea behind these timelines is that by making people wait to file subsequent cases, there is a lower chance that the bankruptcy laws will be abused. When the laws were changed in 2005 many creditors complained about the frequency with which some people were filing cases. What this meant for lenders was that they would make loans, have them discharged in bankruptcy, and then lose money a short time later when they made new loans that were included in a new bankruptcy soon after the first case. So when it came time to rewrite the rules, the lenders made their voice heard and lobbied for stricter rules on re-filing. This does not mean that you cannot file more than one case, you just have to be aware of the timing.
For help with your questions about bankruptcy, contact us at www.DsouzaLegalGroup.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that help get you back on your feet.
