Eligibility to file for Bankruptcy is now a rather complex question. Typically, most people are required to consider one of two types of Bankruptcies. One of the choices is Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and the other is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Eligibility to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy became “income sensitive” after the changes in the Bankruptcy laws effective October 17, 2005. If your income is too high, you may not qualify for eligibility to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and you must then consider filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Interestingly, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy has its own qualifying limitations; however, those limitations are related to the amount of debt you have, rather than the amount of income you have. If you have too much debt you may not qualify for a Chapter 13. If you have too much income to qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, and too much debt to qualify for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, then your next option would be to consider filing a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
Another eligibility issue will surround the question of whether or not you have filed a prior Bankruptcy. There are time limitations on filing a 2nd Bankruptcy. The rules surrounding the time limitations for filing a 2nd Bankruptcy sound rather easy; however, those questions are also rather complex. It is not simple enough to say just becuase you filed a prior Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, or prior Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you may not be eligible to file again for a certain time frame. In reality, you may be able to file a 2nd Bankruptcy shortly after filing a prior Bankruptcy. Managing such a case is somewhat difficult; however, difficult financial situations require creative solutions.
The bottom line is that almost anyone will qualify to file a Bankruptcy. When we meet with you we will help you determine your best option. If you have filed a prior Bankruptcy, we will also help you determine the best way to deal with your creditors going forward.