Hiring A Bankruptcy Attorney For Peace Of Mind

Can You Declare Bankruptcy After Declaring Bankruptcy?

19 June 2018

Gabriel Freeman

In bankruptcy law, there is no actual limit on the number of times an individual can declare bankruptcy. If you've run into hard times, you may be considering declaring bankruptcy again. You can do so, but there are a few caveats: primarily, you need to wait the required amount of time.

You Must Wait 8 Years Between Chapter 7 Bankruptcies

If you've declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy within the last eight years, you're going to need to wait before you can declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy again. This is intended to prevent people from intentionally building debt and then erasing it over and over again. After eight years, however, you are free to declare Chapter 7 bankruptcy again. You can repeat this as many times as you want, as long as you wait in between.

You Must Wait 2 Years Between Chapter 13 Bankruptcies

You cannot declare Chapter 13 bankruptcy again until two years after your last Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 bankruptcy usually sets up a payment plan that will take anywhere from three years to five years to follow. Consequently, it is possible to declare Chapter 13 bankruptcy immediately after fulfilling your original Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan, even if it may not be the ideal solution. 

You Can File Chapter 13 Immediately After Chapter 7

It's theoretically possible to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy immediately after Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Of course, since Chapter 7 bankruptcy wipes out your debts, this is unlikely to be useful; you would have nothing to restructure. However, it does mean that if you are in debt after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and eight years have not yet passed, you may still be able to declare Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

You Must Wait 6 Years to File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy After Chapter 13

If you're currently on a Chapter 13 payment plan, be aware that you need to wait six years after the Chapter 13 bankruptcy to file Chapter 7. Thus, you can't file Chapter 7 in the middle of your payment plan in order to wipe out your debts. Further, you'd be unlikely to qualify for the means test in Chapter 7 bankruptcy if you'd previously failed it and had to complete a Chapter 13.

Declaring bankruptcy after an original bankruptcy declaration does happen, as it's possible that your financial situation might not improve. Still, it can be a more complicated process than declaring bankruptcy the first time. If you need advice or need to know whether you qualify for another bankruptcy proceeding, a bankruptcy attorney can help. 

Share