Debt can often feel like an insurmountable obstacle that many people face when they start to experience financial hardship. If you’ve had to file for bankruptcy before in order to renegotiate your debt you may be wondering if that option would be available for you to take on again.
If you face no other choice but bankruptcy it may be comforting to know that there are no restrictions when it comes to the total number of bankruptcy claims that you can file. If your debts have been charged as a result of a bankruptcy you will have to wait a required amount of time before you are able to file for bankruptcy again.
In the case of Chapter 7 bankruptcy when all of your property and assets are liquidated, you will be restricted to waiting eight years before you are able to file for another chapter 7 bankruptcy claim.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is where you’ve established a debt negotiation with your creditors in which they will forgive some of your debt but you will be forced into a repayment plan with foreclosure or repossession as a potential penalty for not sticking with your bankruptcy plan. If you file for Chapter 13, you will have to wait another two years from the date you file to be eligible to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy again.
Transitioning from chapter 7 bankruptcy to chapter 13 also requires that you wait for years from the date that you file Chapter 7 until you can file Chapter 13.
If you received the discharge for your Chapter 13 bankruptcy you will also have to wait six years before you are able to file a case of Chapter 7. The only exception to the six-year rule in filing chapter 13 occurs when you have paid back all of your unsecured debts or at least 70% of the proposed plan of your unsecured debt.
These are some of the options that you can keep in mind with regards to filing for bankruptcy again. Remember that you can declare bankruptcy any number of times but you may have to wait a designated period before making another claim.
Contact us today for a free consultation about your specific case!