Can you declare bankruptcy twice?
Of all the questions I’ve heard about declaring bankruptcy, this is the most disturbing. Why? Well, I hope that becomes clear to you during the rest of this article.
Remember that personal bankruptcy can provide a family with a new start by relieving them of their overwhelming debt problems. Even though the consequences can be long lasting as far as your credit score goes, you can slowly rebuild your financial future if you take this opportunity and instill some discipline in your spending.
Perhaps you have not been disciplined with your spending and have tried to live above your means by the use of credit cards and other loans. This is often the case and is a major problem in our society today. We simply need to learn how to live within our means. There’s nothing wrong with trying to increase those means over time, but until then you must remain disciplined and avoid unnecessary debt.
To be fair, however, sometimes bankruptcy isn’t the result of personal choices. You may find yourself facing an unjust lawsuit or a medical emergency that overwhelms your savings and leaves you with no option but to declare bankruptcy. So, it isn’t always our spending habits that lead to financial crises, but they probably are the culprits in the vast majority of cases.
The good news is that filing for bankruptcy can give you a break from all the bill collectors and let you catch your breath, so to speak. However, you have to take this second chance seriously and do everything in your power to change your spending habits. As we have already stated, most bankruptcies are the result of no discipline in your spending. You must take this opportunity to make the necessary changes and avoid a repeat of your financial crisis.
It is possible to declare bankruptcy a second time, but this is far from the ideal. You simply cannot continue to declare bankruptcy every time you have money problems. In addition, you’re not allowed to file for chapter seven a second time for at least eight years.
You may not have to wait the full eight years if your original bankruptcy case was not successful or if you filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy and have paid most of your debts off. Again, trying to file bankruptcy a second time should not be your goal. Also, there’s no guarantee that your case will be successful a second time around anyway.
Once again, you must discipline yourself and get your financial affairs in order to ensure that bankruptcy problems never happen again. If you use your first bankruptcy as a helping hand, you won’t have to declare bankruptcy ever again.
