February 2013

In Part 1 of my two-part series discussing the issue of filing for bankruptcy after a previous bankruptcy had been filed, I mentioned “disposable monthly income” in the context of Chapter 13 bankruptcy and told you that this post would discuss it in detail.  This isn’t the first time I have promised to discuss this topic.  I have put it off because of the somewhat esoteric, indeed recondite, dare I even say arcane, nature of the subject.  However, there have been some very recent developments in the case law on “disposable monthly income” that make it ripe for discussion.  Therefore, this post makes good on my promises.
Continue Reading Disposable Monthly Income In A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

My previous post dealt with the first of two possible settings involving a previous bankruptcy.  The first setting was when you received a discharge in the previous bankruptcy.  Today’s post deals with the second situation, i.e., your previous bankruptcy was dismissed.

II.        Your Previous Case Was Dismissed

Other than the 180-day bar of § 109(g), or some other time bar imposed on you by the Court because of naughty behavior, there is no time bar to filing another case after a dismissal.

However, there is a serious loss of protection with serial filing.  Most particularly, you lose the protection of the automatic stay, which is perhaps the most important benefit of filing — other than the discharge.  A little history will help to set the stage.
Continue Reading Can I File For Bankruptcy More Than Once? (Part 2)