Can I File a Chapter 13 One Year After a Chapter 7 Is Discharged?
- In filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy rather than another Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there is a shorter time frame that needs to be adhered to, but there are other reasons someone might choose Chapter 13 over Chapter 7. If you have a job and are continuing to work, you may not pass the means test required for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Chapter 13 allows you the opportunity to repay your debts with a payment plan. You have nonexempt property you don't want to be forced to sell as you would under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
- A Chapter 13 bankruptcy can be filed every four years if you are filing another Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You must wait two years after you have filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy to file a Chapter 13. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be filed every eight years but only six years after a Chapter 13. These dates make it unlikely you would be able to file a bankruptcy within a year of having one discharged unless the discharge was in the form of a dismissal of the case.
- One of the filing limitations for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is that it cannot be filed if you had a prior bankruptcy petition dismissed within the previous 180 days. According to the U.S. Courts, the reason for the dismissal must be "the debtor's willful failure to appear before the court or comply with orders of the court or was voluntarily dismissed after creditors sought relief from the bankruptcy court to recover property upon which they hold liens."
- Another way to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy within a year of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is to convert a Chapter 7 bankruptcy to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy. As long as you are eligible for the Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can convert the Chapter 7 with a one-sentence document. This does not mean the Chapter 7 case was discharged, though. It simply became another case.
