Bankruptcy Discharge Time Frames

• If you file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and received a discharge (elimination) of your debts, you must wait eight years before getting another Chapter 7. You can, however, file for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and be eligible for a discharge if you file at least four years after you filed for your Chapter 7.
  
  If your most recent bankruptcy was a Chapter 13 repayment plan, the law becomes more complicated. You can file for another Chapter 13, and get a discharge, if you file two or more years after your previous Chapter 13. You can also file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy six years after you filed your Chapter 13, though if you paid at least 70 percent of your unsecured debt during your repayment plan, you may be eligible to file for Chapter 7 sooner.
  
  

Bankruptcy Without Discharge

• If you are unable to get a bankruptcy discharge because your debts are non-dischargeable or not enough time has lapsed since your last bankruptcy, you may still want to consider filing for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy with no expectation of receiving a discharge. If you file for Chapter 13, you can enter a repayment plan that will help you chip away at your debt while under the protection of the automatic stay against creditor activity.
  
  The "automatic stay" is an order from the court that prevents your creditors from trying to collect your debt. This means that a creditor cannot take your bank account, call you at work or garnish your wages for as long as your Chapter 13 bankruptcy is in process.
  
  

Nondischargeable Debt

• If you can't get a bankruptcy discharge because your debts are nondischargeable (e.g., student loans or some back taxes), you may be able to work directly with your creditors to create a payment plan or even settle your debt. Show the creditor that you can't realistically pay the amount that it wants you to pay, and it may be willing to accept less than what you owe.
  
  

Debt Management Programs

• Some credit counseling agencies offer debt management programs. The credit counselor works with you and your creditors to lower interest rates and monthly payments. Each month you make one payment to the credit counseling agency, which then sends on payments to individual creditors. If bankruptcy isn't an option, debt management may be the best way to get creditors to stop harassing you and pay off your debt at the same time. You'll also avoid having an additional bankruptcy on your credit report.