Payment Plans AvailableAvailable 24/7 Including Weekends
Firm Logo
443-551-2747
Make A Payment

How often can you file for bankruptcy?

Dealing with fiscal emergencies and immense debts can happen more than once in someone’s lifetime. Like most states, Maryland, allows residents to file bankruptcy more than once. While there isn’t a limit on how many bankruptcies a person can have, there are waiting periods.

When do bankruptcy filings end?

There’s a limit to filing for bankruptcy after the court discharges the debt. Once the court discharges a person’s debts, they are no longer obligated to repay those debts. However, unfortunate circumstances could lead to a pileup of new debts or falling behind on payments.

There are a few different concerns to keep in mind when filing another bankruptcy. Answering these questions helps to determine when you are eligible to file:

• Did your last bankruptcy end in a discharge?
• When was your bankruptcy filing date?
• Did you last file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?
• Are you trying to file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?

Filing another Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Chapter 7 is the quickest form of debt relief but has the longest waiting period. When filing another Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there’s an eight-year wait. There’s a six-year waiting period when filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy after a Chapter 13. If a person pays their unsecured debts in full or makes at least 70% of the payments in good faith, the federal court can waive the six-year wait.

Filing another Chapter 13 bankruptcy

There’s a two-year wait when filing for Chapter 13 after a previous Chapter 13 bankruptcy. While this is the shortest wait period, it’s rare to happen. A Chapter 13 restructuring takes about three to five years to pay back. There’s a four-year wait when filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy after Chapter 7. A person avoids the four-year wait by having the court not discharge Chapter 13 debt. A person can set up a payment plan to pay off debt not covered in Chapter 7.

The wait periods of a bankruptcy filing have many variables. Following a Chapter 7 with a Chapter 13 is sometimes referred to as a Chapter 20. Every wait period depends on if the court discharges the bankruptcy. If the court dismisses bankruptcy for any reason, a person needs to wait 180 days before refiling.