When a person has filed bankruptcy in the past, they may want to know how long they must wait to file bankruptcy again. If a person has filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and received a discharge of their debts, they must wait 8 years before they can file another Chapter 7 petition. However, the waiting period to receive a discharge in a Chapter 13 case after a previous Chapter 7 case is only 4 years. Sometimes unfortunate circumstances create a need for a second bankruptcy in less than 4 years after the filing of a Chapter 7 case. You can file a Chapter 13 case less than 4 years after filing a Chapter 7 case and receive court protection from your creditors, but you won’t receive a discharge of your debts. It sometimes makes sense to file such a case to prevent foreclosure of a residence or to receive court protection from creditors.
The waiting period to file a Chapter 13 case after a
previous Chapter 13 case is only two years from filing date to filing
date. Since the typical Chapter 13 case
lasts for three years, there is rarely any waiting period for filing a Chapter
13 case after a previous Chapter 13 case.
The waiting period to file a Chapter 7 petition after a Chapter 13
petition is 6 years.
