Consult a Bankruptcy Attorney When Needed
Video Transcribed: Oklahoma Bankruptcy Attorney Edward Kelley here, answering your Oklahoma bankruptcy questions with oklahomacitybankruptcyattorney.pro. And today, we’re going to talk about how often can I file bankruptcy? So like most bankruptcy attorneys who’ve been around for a while, we have our repeat customers, so to speak, and we see them every eight years.
So eight years is the period from discharge to discharge. Now understand it’s not how many cases you filed. It’s how many cases you successfully completed, or in other words, received your discharge. If you recall, the discharge is what actually eliminates any creditors’ ability to collect on any of the debts you had going into that chapter seven.
Unless for some reason they were non-dischargeable, like student loans or child support, in which case discharge doesn’t affect it. So you can’t file another case until eight years from the filing date of a case where you received a discharge, is that makes sense.
Let’s say you filed it chapter seven on January 1st, 2000, and then you received a discharge 90 days later. You can’t file another case until January 1st of 2008, or if it was 2001, 2009, so on. But don’t go from the date of discharge, go from the date of filing, which is in your favor.
Now, if you didn’t get a discharge, doesn’t apply. And chapter 13, which we talk a lot about here, are often an option for people who can’t file the seven, but do need to file bankruptcy immediately, losing the house, or just need to make the debt manageable. You don’t have to wait that eight years to file a chapter 13. That depends on several things. And again, only is concerned with the discharge date.
So hopefully, that clears some of that up. Just remember, if it hasn’t been eight years since your last chapter seven case in which you received a discharge, can’t file that yet, can’t do a liquidation, but you can probably do a chapter 13 and just get in touch with me or somebody. And they’ll let you know exactly when you can do it. If you file a case early, just know you can’t. They never not notice. That’s one of the first things they check and it’s a going to get kicked out.