Refile?

[beautifulmes]

I was discharged from my bk (Chap 13) in May 2011 almost a yr ago

THEN i lost my job so i am having a real hard time .. i have several doctors bills on credit report and cannot pay any of them right now so it is hurting my credit ... SHould i consider filing a 7 to get these off ... will it hurt me more in the long run if i do this and can i do it online or do i need an attorney ...

Any advice appreciated

[AngelinaCat]

Welcome to the forum. I hate to be the one to give bad news. It appears that you will have to wait at least another year to file if you are looking for a discharge. If you just want to get a payment plan, you can file a 13 again. But from the little you have shared here, it appears that you don't have the ability to make any kind a payment plan.

Here is the information I read on another site:

"You’ve had to file bankruptcy before, but now you need that emergency relief again. How long do you have to wait between bankruptcy cases? It used to be that the rule was simple; you only had to wait 6 years between Chapter 7 cases. Now there is a more complicated rule of 2, 4, 6, 8.

The Two Year Rule

If you received a discharge (completed the payment plan) in a previous Chapter 13 case, you must wait two years before filing another Chapter 13 case or you will not get a discharge in the new case. This is tricky stuff because there is a line of thought and some authority to say that if you do not need a discharge in the new case, but only need time to stretch out your current obligations, then you don’t need to worry about this restriction because you are not looking to discharge anything. That would mean you could file another Chapter 13 case immediately after receiving your discharge in the prior case. [For those seeking the statute on this, look at 11 U.S.C. 1328(f)(2)]

The Four Year Rule

If you received a Chapter 7 Discharge in a previous case, then you must wait 4 years before filing a new Chapter 13 case. Again, if you don’t need a discharge in the new case, but intend to pay 100% of your creditors over the life of the plan, you don’t need to wait 4 years. [The statutory section is found at 11 U.S.C. §1328(f)(1)]

The Six Year Rule

You must wait 6 years between the filing of a previous Chapter 12 or 13 case and a new Chapter 7 case. Unlike the previous sections this is important because you don’t file a Chapter 7 unless you are looking for a discharge. Now as with everything Congress does, there are exceptions. If you paid 100% of your debts in the previous Chapter 12 or 13 case or paid at least 70% of your debts in those cases and the Court found that this was your best effort, then the 6 year rule does not apply. You can file Chapter 7 right away and get a discharge if you otherwise qualify. [11 U.S.C. §727(a)(9)]

The Eight Year Rule

You must wait 8 years between Chapter 7 cases. The previous rule was six years, but has been extended to 8 years in 2005. However, this may be the time to consider a Chapter 13 as there are many hidden benefits to a budget plan than you might think. [11 U.S.C. §727(a)(8)]]"

Good wishes to you.

[shark66]

I was discharged from my bk (Chap 13) in May 2011 almost a yr ago

THEN i lost my job so i am having a real hard time .. i have several doctors bills on credit report and cannot pay any of them right now so it is hurting my credit ...

I wouldn't be too worried about credit right now if I were you.

Until you have a job again, and wages that can be garnished, lay low and ignore the creditors. They don't want to talk to you - they want the payment - so there's really no point in talking to them.

Clean out any bank accounts that you might have and live on cash, or a pre-paid debit card.

Good luck to us all.

[SMinGA2]

IT would depend on when the ch. 13 was filed. If more than 6 years ago, yes you'd be ch. 7 'eligible'. But are things dire enough that you need to use that now? How are your finances now? Are you working, able to handle living expenses, etc.? If not - you may end up with more collections/debts before things get better. File too soon, and you're really stuck since you would not even have the option of getting another ch. 13 discharge anytime soon.

As long as you're not facing garnishment/bank levies/repossession/foreclosure - you should be able to move forward. Collections are nasty to deal with, for sure, but not the end of the world. Hang in there!

[keepsmiling]

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