Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

People in Illinois have been filing for consumer bankruptcy for decades. While you might not want to consider the possibility that you will need to file for personal bankruptcy more than once in your life, it is important to know whether that is an option that remains available to you. Indeed, many consumers do have to turn to bankruptcy more than once over a lifetime. In some cases, a consumer might file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and complete the terms of the repayment plan, only to learn that she or he cannot pay massive amounts of unexpected medical debt a few years later after a job layoff. Or, for instance, a consumer might file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy when he or she is relatively young, and that person might wonder about filing for bankruptcy again after retirement. So, can you file for bankruptcy again? In short, the answer is yes, but the requirements for filing for consumer bankruptcy more than once depend upon the type of bankruptcy protection you are seeking and the amo...

If you have previously filed for consumer bankruptcy , can you file for bankruptcy again? According to an article in the Wall Street Journal , both individuals and businesses often become repeat filers of bankruptcy, and some commentators believe that someone must be to blame when a party files for bankruptcy more than once. Should bankruptcy courts be concerned about serial filers? Or should we think about multiple bankruptcy filings as actions that often are necessary for debtors to become financially healthy and reliable consumers? Serial Filing in Bankruptcy Court What is a serial filer, exactly? When you hear about serial filing, it refers to individuals or businesses who are repeat—or in some cases chronic—bankruptcy filers. In other words, serial filers are parties who seek bankruptcy protection more than once. However, filing for bankruptcy on more than one occasion doesn’t necessarily mean you are a serial filer. Although some repeat filers will file again in f...