How often can you file chapter 7 bankruptcy in tennessee

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In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Talk to a Lawyer. Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. If you file bankruptcy too soon after you have received a previous bankruptcy discharge, you cannot receive another discharge.

Time Limits Apply to Discharges, Not Bankruptcy Filings Bankruptcy law doesn't set a minimum period that you must wait before filing for bankruptcy a second time. Filing Under the Same Bankruptcy Chapter: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Here are the timeframes if you plan to file the same bankruptcy chapter that you filed the first time: Successive Chapter 7 cases You'll have to wait eight years after the first Chapter 7 case filing date before filing the second case.

Successive Chapter 13 cases Two years must elapse between filing dates before you'll be entitled to receive a second Chapter 13 discharge.

Filing Under Different Chapters: The Order Matters Here are the waiting periods when a second bankruptcy case is a different chapter than the one you received your first discharge in.

Chapter 13 before Chapter 7 If the court granted your first discharge under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you'd need to wait six years from the Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing date before filing for a Chapter 7 discharge. Chapter 7 before Chapter 13 If the court granted your first discharge under Chapter 7, you'd have to wait four years from the Chapter 7 filing date before filing a Chapter 13 case.

There is no limit to how many times someone can seek bankruptcy protection. To prevent an abuse of the bankruptcy process, the Bankruptcy Code requires a certain amount of time to pass between cases that result in a discharge. This prevents people from running up high credit card balances and other types of debt and filing bankruptcy every few years.

The type of bankruptcy filed in the previous case determines the time limit between cases. The time starts to run on the date the prior case is filed with the bankruptcy court. This is the longest amount of time between cases required by the Bankruptcy Code. So, someone who successfully discharges their unsecured debts through Chapter 7 can file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to pay off tax debts or other types of debt that survived the prior case.

If you previously filed a Chapter 13 case and received a discharge and are looking to file a Chapter 13 case again, you have to wait at least two years from the filing date of the first case before filing the second case. This is pretty rare. The minimum length of a Chapter 13 repayment plan is 3 years. Receiving a discharge before completing a 3 year plan is possible only if an unexpected hardship makes completing the plan impossible.

Upsolve Community Member If the time of service was after your case was filed, it's considered Hello Laura, This is a good question. If I filed chapter 7 in February , when can I file chapter 7 again Only a bankruptcy lawyer can give you legal advice about how soon your second bankruptcy can be filed.

If you are in between bankruptcy filings and unable to file another bankruptcy, you may have to consider other debt-relief options like debt consolidation or debt settlement. These alternatives can be tricky to navigate, so start by getting a free evaluation of your financial situation through credit counseling.

Here, you'll find:. However, we couldn't squeeze everything into this article, so be sure to check out its companion What You Need to Know to File for Bankruptcy —you'll find lots more details there. In most respects, filing for bankruptcy in Tennessee isn't any different than filing in another state. The bankruptcy process falls under federal law, not Tennessee state law, and it works by unwinding the contracts between you and your creditors—that's what gives you a fresh start.

But Tennessee's laws come into play, too, in a significant way. They determine the property you can keep in your bankruptcy case. You'll also need to know other filing information, which we explain after going over some basics.

Most people file either Chapter 7 or Chapter If you don't know the differences between the two, you're not alone. The short explanation below and our handy Chapter 7 versus 13 chart will help clear things up. Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Chapter 7 is often a bankruptcy filer's first choice for several reasons.

It's quick—it only takes a few months to complete. And it's cheap—you don't pay anything to creditors. It works well for those of us whose property consists of the essential items needed to live and work.

People with more assets could lose them, however, especially if they own unnecessary luxury items. For instance, you might have to give up your RV, baseball card collection, or timeshare in the Bahamas—even your house or vehicle if you have too much equity in it or you're behind on the payments. Unlike Chapter 13, Chapter 7 doesn't have a payment plan option for catching up on late mortgage or car payments.

So you could lose your home or car if you're behind when you file. Chapter 13 bankruptcy. By contrast, Chapter 13 filers must pay creditors some or all of what they owe using a three- to five-year repayment plan. But the payment plan allows Chapter 13 to offer benefits not available in Chapter 7.

For instance, not only do you keep all of your property, but you can save your home from foreclosure or your car from repossession. If you need time to repay a debt you can't discharge in bankruptcy, you can use this chapter to force a creditor into a payment plan. The biggest downside to this chapter? It can be expensive. Many people can't afford the monthly payment.

Learn more about when filing Chapter 13 is better than Chapter 7. Caution for businesspeople. Be sure to learn about the ins and outs of small business bankruptcies. The principles discussed apply to consumers only. Bankruptcy wipes out many bills, like credit card balances , overdue utility payments, medical bills, personal loans, and more. You can even get rid of a mortgage or car payment if you're willing to give up the house or car that secures the debt.

Putting property up as collateral creates a "secured debt"—if you don't pay what you owe, the lender gets to take the property back. But you can't discharge all debts.

Nondischargeable debts , like domestic support arrearages and recent tax debt , won't go away in bankruptcy, and student loans aren't easy to wipe out you'd have to win a separate lawsuit. You'll want to be sure that bankruptcy will discharge get rid of enough bills to make it worth your while. We all know that seeing the forest helps us recognize the trees, so it's probably a good time to consider the significant steps you'll take during your bankruptcy journey.

Think of this checklist as a roadmap of sorts, but you can also use it to track your progress. The good news? You've already made headway on the first two items! You won't lose everything in bankruptcy. A chapter 13 bankruptcy allows you to make up their overdue payments over time and to reinstate the original mortgage agreement.

In general, if you have valuable property not covered by your Tennessee bankruptcy exemptions that you want to keep, a chapter 13 filing may be a better option. Also, people file Chapter 13 bankruptcy because they have too much income to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or have the kind of debt that is non- dischargeable in a Chapter 7 e.