Am I allowed to file bankruptcy if I filed before?

If I filed bankruptcy before, does that effect my eligibility to file again?

There is a limitation on filing bankruptcy, but the time between bankruptcies depend upon which chapter was filed in the past and which chapter is being filed under this time.   Filing between cases also depends upon whether the case was concluded because it was dismissed or because the debtor received a discharge.  The time periods go from the date of filing of cases in which a discharge was received runs from the Petition Date (date case was filed) to Petition Date (date the second case is filed).  Some of the time limitations between cases that were completed and a discharge was granted are:

1. A debtor must wait for 8 years between the filing dates of two chapter 7 cases.
2. A debtor that is granted a discharge in a chapter 13 case, must wait 6 years before filing a chapter 7 case. Again the time period is calculated from the date of filing of the first case to the date of filing of the second case.
3. A debtor  that filed a chapter 7 before can file a chapter 13 at any time after receiving a chapter 7 discharge, but the debtor will only be able to obtain a discharge of his or her debts if the prior chapter 7 was filed more than 4 years prior to the filing of the chapter 13.  In some instances, our clients elect to file a chapter 13 case even if they cannot receive a discharge because of a prior filing.
4. A debtor can file another chapter 13 case if the prior chapter 13 case was filed more than two years before the filing of the second case.  Since a discharge is rarely granted in a chapter 13 case in less than 3 years, it is very unlikely that someone would be filing a second chapter 13 case less than 2 years after the prior case was filed.

As stated above, the above rules apply when a discharge has been granted in the prior case.  If a prior case was dismissed, there can be a 180 day bar from filing another case in two situations:

1. The debtor voluntarily dismissed his/her case after a request was made by a creditor to terminate the Automatic Stay.   The request is generally called a motion for relief from stay or a motion to lift the automatic stay.
2. The debtor’s case was dismissed because of his/her refusal to comply with an order of the bankruptcy court.

Our staff can help you determine what type of bankruptcy can be filed by you and what relief can be obtained if you have filed a bankruptcy case within the past 8 years.