{"id":1679,"date":"2012-12-25T00:32:16","date_gmt":"2012-12-25T00:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nwdrlf.com\/?p=1679"},"modified":"2021-12-13T11:14:58","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T11:14:58","slug":"how-often-you-can-file-bankruptcy-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nwdrlf.com\/what-is-bankruptcy\/how-often-you-can-file-bankruptcy-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How Often You Can File Bankruptcy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"howCan You File for Bankruptcy More Than Once?<\/h2>\n

They say that lightning never strikes twice in the same place, and that may be true. However, financial misfortunes come with no such guarantee. Job loss, divorce, business downturn, or serious illness can strike any family at any time, regardless of whether these families are good or poor money managers. This is because these financial storms, for the most part, are mostly or entirely beyond the debtor\u2019s control. As a result, it is important to understand your rights in terms of how often you can file bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

There are actually two considerations \u2014 the automatic stay and debt discharge (forgiveness) \u2014 and it is important to understand both these things.<\/p>\n

What Is Automatic Stay?<\/h2>\n

Section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code prohibits moneylenders from taking adverse action against debtors. Moreover,\u00a0that is one of the things that makes bankruptcy perhaps the most powerful debt relief tool in history. Unfortunately, a few people take advantage of the system, and use the automatic stay to frustrate their creditors. As is true in so many areas of life, since a few people refuse to follow the rules, everyone faces limits in terms of how often you can file bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

If either you or the judge dismisses a prior bankruptcy and you file another voluntary petition within a year, the automatic stay ends after thirty days. If you have dismissed two or more cases in a year, there is no automatic stay.<\/p>\n

That being said, judges routinely grant motions to extend or impose creditor stays regardless of how often you can file bankruptcy \u2014 if you show a legitimate need for a stay and have a reasonable explanation for the prior dismissal(s). Some courts have specific procedural requirements, e.g., they only consider a motion to impose a creditor stay if it is filed simultaneously with the voluntary petition.<\/p>\n

Filing Restrictions<\/h2>\n

There are many legitimate reasons you might voluntarily dismiss your bankruptcy; for example, you might wish to convert from a Chapter 13<\/a> repayment to a Chapter 7<\/a> liquidation bankruptcy. Some other dismissals are involuntary, and these involuntary dismissals affect how often you can file bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

If the judge dismissed a prior bankruptcy \u201cwith prejudice,\u201d which means with restrictions on how often you can file bankruptcy, you must wait 180 days to file another voluntary petition. Most judges dismiss cases with prejudice if the debtor refused to:<\/p>\n