Filed in 2005 before the new law. can I fille again?

[DARKLINKS]

I was wondering. I Filed 07/18/2005 Date Resolved:11/15/2005 chapter 7. I we in a car crash and now owe more then 75k in medical bills I have heard it is one way or the other. Can I file bankruptcy again in 2012 or do I have to wait untill 2013. I am a little lost here. I have the the paper and credit reports ready to go but I have heard that you now have to wait 8 years. Does this apply to bankruptcy filed under the old bankruptcy?

[Flamingo]

First, your medical bills - if the accident was deemed to be the fault of the other driver, you have a possible lawsuit on hand to pay for medical bills, lost wages, etc., etc. That would weigh big as to any BK decision. To answer your questoin, I believe under the former BK law (prior to 10/05) that you had to wait seven years from the date of filing your last Chapter 7 in order to file again. The new law extended it to 8 years. Any BK attorney can verify that for you but you would fall under the old law rules as you filed prior to the amending of the BK laws.

[tobee43]

First, your medical bills - if the accident was deemed to be the fault of the other driver, you have a possible lawsuit on hand to pay for medical bills, lost wages, etc., etc. That would weigh big as to any BK decision. To answer your questoin, I believe under the former BK law (prior to 10/05) that you had to wait seven years from the date of filing your last Chapter 7 in order to file again. The new law extended it to 8 years. Any BK attorney can verify that for you but you would fall under the old law rules as you filed prior to the amending of the BK laws.

flamingo points out an excellent point here, if that accident is deemed to be your fault the bk will not clear the debt if you file. i also agree that under the present laws you have to wait at least the 7 years completely before you can file again. and ONCE again, as suggested, consult an atty to see exactly what and where you position is.

[TheBajan]

flamingo points out an excellent point here, if that accident is deemed to be your fault the bk will not clear the debt if you file. i also agree that under the present laws you have to wait at least the 7 years completely before you can file again. and ONCE again, as suggested, consult an atty to see exactly what and where you position is.

Tobee,

That is something I did not know! I had no idea that it even mattered who's fault it is. So... how does that responsibility extend to the actions of our dependent children? For example, if my teenage son (away at college but still my dependent) has an at fault accident, would I be liable for that? Am I understanding correctly that it would not be discharged via BK?

....scary thought!

[bcohen]

flamingo points out an excellent point here, if that accident is deemed to be your fault the bk will not clear the debt if you file. i also agree that under the present laws you have to wait at least the 7 years completely before you can file again. and ONCE again, as suggested, consult an atty to see exactly what and where you position is.

I call bulls**t on that. The only time debts arising from an auto accident are nondischargeable is if you were driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. And of course, if you were ticketed by the city/county/state, the fine(s) cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Other than the specific exemption of driving under the influence of drugs/alcohol, debts for personal injury and/or property damage arising from an auto accident CAN BE DISCHARGED, regardless of who is deemed to be "at fault". Likewise, whether the debt is owed to an individual or to an insurance agency has no effect on dischargeability.

In any case, your own auto insurance should pay for damages and injury up to the policy limits REGARDLESS OF WHO IS AT FAULT. That is why you are paying for insurance, to be protected from these losses! If your policy limits have been exhausted, or if you were driving without insurance, then you will need to file for bankruptcy to avoid having a judgment and having your driver's license suspended until this judgment is paid off. Bankruptcy will discharge the judgment and reinstate your driver's license (again, assuming no DUI drug or alcohol use).

[keepmine]

Flamingo's pointwas the opposite. If the other driver was at fault, the OP has a potential lawsuit that may become property of the bk estate.
Prior to bk reform, you could file another Chapter 7 6 years from the prior filing. Now, it's 8 years. There is no grandfathering provision in the bk code.

[MSbklawyer]

You would have to wait 8 years from your filing date -- 7/18/2005 -- to file another Chapter 7 and be eligible for discharge. The old law has no applicability to your situation even though your first bankruptcy was filed under the old law. The law restricts the time periods for discharges, not for filings. You could file Chapter 7 right now if you wanted to, but at the end of it, you would not get a discharge.

You could file 13 now and get a discharge since your previous filing is more than 4 years ago. If that's not for you, you'll need to wait another year and a couple of months to be eligible for a Chapter 7 discharge.

[Flamingo]

flamingo points out an excellent point here, if that accident is deemed to be your fault the bk will not clear the debt if you file. i also agree that under the present laws you have to wait at least the 7 years completely before you can file again. and ONCE again, as suggested, consult an atty to see exactly what and where you position is.

Tobee that was not my point at all ... See Keepmine's post above.... Thank you MSbklawyer for clearing up the filing date question as to filings prior to 10/05...

[tobee43]

hold the cattle!!!

yes, i was referring to the fact that some auto, boat accident suits are not dischargable and i didn't mention why. i see flamingo, you did say the OTHER driver...so i stand corrected.

one does get a list with their discharge papers from the court of what and what is NOT dischargable and there are absolutely certain situations which are not. bcohen, you're correct, dealing with druck drivers etc...i understand the OP didn't mention either way who's fault it in fact it was or any details of the incident.

[SMinGA2]

Time between filings is 8 years from one chapter 7 to another chapter 7. Doesn't matter that you filed under 'old laws' as the new laws are in effect now. (Old law was 6 years between cases.)

Or you could file a chapter 13 now.

No matter what, you will not be able to file another successful ch. 7 case until after 7/18/13. I say 'successful' because technically a person could file the case paperwork anytime they wished. But it would be dismissed. And doing that would be a bad idea. They generally don't like it when people waste the court's time, and could lead to something like an injunction against being able to file at all for X months/years.

[HHM]

I think all the answers have been given, but to reinforce

--As for as timing goes, old law, new law doesn't matter. The new law rules apply. Chapter 7 to chapter 7 is 8 years from date of filing. Chapter 13 to chapter 13 is 2 years. Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 is 6 years, and chapter 13 to chapter 7 is 4 years. (although, I may have those last two time lines reversed, I am going from memory and not looking up to verify).

So, given your stated filing date, and assuming your prior BK was a chapter 7, you could not file another chapter 7 until 11/16/2013. But you could file chapter 13.

As to the accident, there are some issues that have been pointed out.
If there is another driver and he was at fault, you have a claim against that driver and that claim is an asset. What happens to it will depend on the exemptions of your state. If you were at fault, your debt to the other driver is dischargeable unless you were deemed under the influence or the accident was malicious and willful.

[SMinGA2]

Original poster said he filed 7-18-05. Discharge was in November, but the time between filings is just that... Time between filings. I hold to my prior statement: new filing can be after 7/18/13.

So, given your stated filing date, and assuming your prior BK was a chapter 7, you could not file another chapter 7 until 11/16/2013. But you could file chapter 13.

[HHM]

Original poster said he filed 7-18-05. Discharge was in November, but the time between filings is just that... Time between filings. I hold to my prior statement: new filing can be after 7/18/13.

opps, your right, looked at the wrong date.
So, 7/19/13