Can You Re-File a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy After Dismissal?
Posted on Aug 31, 2011 7:34am PDT
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy case will generally last three to five years. A lot can happen in that time, especially for an individual who is attempting to deal with serious financial difficulties. In some cases, a financial setback can cause a Chapter 13 debtor to be unable to pay the monthly Chapter 13
plan payments or perhaps payments to a secured creditor. Since the practical effect of the Chapter 13 plan stretches the debtor's finances thin, a financial hiccup can be a death blow to a Chapter 13 case. That's why I strongly encourage my clients to let me know immediately if they are having financial problems during their Chapter 13 case.
If you get behind on your plan payments, it is important to discuss your situation with your Chicago bankruptcy attorney. If you simply miss one payment to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustee, we may be able to ask permission from the court to skip a plan payment or re-structure your plan payments. More than one missed payment will likely have to be paid to keep your Chapter 13 bankruptcy from being dismissed. If your case is dismissed due to your inability to make your plan payments, you will generally be able to reinstate the case after paying all due plan payments, or you may choose to re-file your Chapter 13 case.
Re-filing your case can get complicated, so this is where an experienced Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney will make all the difference. If you get behind on post-petition (after your Chapter 13 case was filed) payments to a secured creditor, the creditor may file a request for relief from the automatic stay. You are generally ineligible to file bankruptcy for 180 days if your Chapter 13 case is dismissed by the court either for failure to obey a court order or via a voluntary dismissal after a motion for relief from the automatic stay has been filed.
Additionally, in 2005 Congress enacted new laws to combat "serial" filers who abuse the bankruptcy laws by filing consecutive bankruptcy cases to frustrate creditors. Essentially, if you file a bankruptcy case within one year of an earlier dismissed case, the automatic stay in the second case terminates 30 days after the filing, unless you are able to demonstrate that the second case was filed in good faith. Again, this is where an experienced attorney is essential. A subsequent case filed within the same one-year period penalizes the debtor by foregoing the automatic stay entirely, until the debtor shows that this third filing was made in good faith.
If you have trouble making payments to the trustee or to a secured creditor during your Chapter 13 bankruptcy, contact your bankruptcy attorney and discuss your options. Your attorney is able to propose solutions to protect your property and help remedy your financial troubles.
Contact the experienced Chicago bankruptcy attorneys at Glanzer & Associates, P.C. at 1-312-644-2227 to discuss your specific situation, and to schedule your free, in-person consultation.