In most cases filing bankruptcy is due to certain unforseeable events that leave a person unable to maintain control of their current financial situation. Unfortunately, the financial relief people have received through a previous bankrutpcy filing is all too often short lived. People can once again find themselve struck by devastating events and unable to coop with their financial burdens. The most common of these reoccurring events is people struggling with a medical condition. While their has always been limitations on the amount of time that must go by before you can file or receive another discharge, under the new bankruptcy laws there have been several changes to these stipulations.

If you have previously completed a Chapter 7 and wish to file another Chapter 7, then you must wait 8 years in order to be able to do so. If you had previously filed a chapter 13 then the amount of time you must wait to file a Chapter 13 depends upon the percentage you paid back to your unsecured creditors. If you paid back more than 70% of your unsecured debt in your previous Chapter 13, then there is no time limitation place on your filing of a Chapter 7. If you paid less than 70% of your unsecured debt back, then you must wait 6 years after your Chapter 13 to file a Chapter 7.

If you have filed a Chapter 7 and received a discharge from it, then you are immediately eligible to file a Chapter 13. With that being said, if you do file a Chapter 13 within 4 years of receiving a discharge from a Chapter 7, then you will not receive another discharge. This means that you are free to file a Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7, but doing so will not discharge any of your finacial obligations. This situation would simply halt credit collection, foreclosure, and repossession attempts and give a scheduled repayment plan. This would allow you to catch up on mortage or car payments without living in fear of foreclosure and repossession. For more information of filing Chapter 13 bankrutpcy check out http://www.bankruptcyhome.com/chapter13.htm.

A limitation does exist on filing back to back Chapter 13s, but it is so short that it would probably never be used. After filing a Chapter 13 you must wait 2 years from the date you filed the first Chapter 13 to be eligilble to file another Chapter Thirteen. Almost all Chapter 13 cases last between 3 to 5 years, so as you can see the two year limitation would almost never come into play.

To ensure that you are made aware of all your options choose your attorney wisely or consult http://www.bankruptcyhome.com/choosinganattorney.htm for help choosing one. For more information on bankruptcy you can go to http://www.bankruptcyhome.com/articles.htm.