The table below specifies the the time period which must pass before a person may receive a bankruptcy discharge in consecutive bankruptcy cases, except for converted cases. The time period depends upon the chapter under which the current and previous cases were filed, except for converted cases.
Filing Dates Control. All time periods start and end on the bankruptcy petition filing date for each case, except for cases converted from one chapter to another. The discharge date is always irrelevant. Consecutive Ch. 7 Cases. If the debtor receives a Chapter 7 discharge in the first case, he will not be able to receive a discharge in a subsequently filed Chapter 7 case unless at least 8 years pass between the filing of the bankruptcy petition in the first and second case. Consecutive Ch. 13 Cases. If the debtor receives a Chapter 13 discharge in the first case, he will not be able to receive a discharge in a subsequently filed Chapter 13 case unless at least 2 years pass between the filing of the bankruptcy petition in the first and second case. Ch. 7 Followed by Ch. 13. If the debtor receives a Chapter 7 discharge in the first case, and the second case is a Chapter 13 case, he will not be able to receive a discharge in the Chapter 13 case unless at least 4 years pass between the filing of the bankruptcy petition in the first and second case. Ch. 13 Followed by Ch. 7. If the debtor receives a Chapter 13 discharge in the first case, and the second case is a Chapter 7 case, he will not be able to receive a discharge in the Chapter 7 case unless at least 6 years pass between the filing date of the bankruptcy petition in the first and second case.
Converted Cases It is common for bankruptcy cases to be converted from one chapter to another at some point during the proceedings. For example, debtors that file under chapter 13 are required to propose a payment plan to repay part or all of their debts. If the debtor loses his job and can no longer make payments, the debtor can convert the chapter 13 case to a chapter 7 case in an attempt to discharge the debts that were not paid in the chapter 13 repayment plan, without making any further payment. In converted cases, the law is unclear. The courts have disagreed about whether the time period that must elapse between the first and second case start when the debtor files the petition in the first case, or when the first case is converted from one chapter to another.
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