At Veitengruber Law, we love a good puzzle.
Our most recent puzzle involved a blind client facing a Sheriff's Sale. His disability caused him to lose his business. His attempts to recover financially have been slow to develop and appear to be too little too late to save his home. This client has already filed for personal bankruptcy a few times in an attempt to save his home. At this point, if he files another Chapter 13 bankruptcy—his third in a year—he would not be able to prevent the impending Sheriff's Sale of his home without either:
A) The lender's attorney consenting
B) The judge ordering that the automatic stay be reinstated, or
C) A complete miracle
Of those three options, our client's best bet is to hope for a miracle.
Bankruptcy law is complicated. At Veitengruber Law, we handle mostly Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies. Each bankruptcy type has different rules and potential benefits. Choosing which bankruptcy to file depends on your unique circumstances and goals. But the key takeaway here is that you can file and receive the benefit of these different versions of bankruptcy without them impacting each other.
Despite the fact that this client has filed 9 bankruptcies over the course of 16 years, his inexperience at filing could actually be his saving grace. If he files another Chapter 13 before September 2022, he will lose the 30-day automatic stay of his Sheriff's Sale due to filing Chapter 13 twice within one year. He can, however, file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and obtain a discharge every 8 years. The last time he received a discharge under Chapter 7 was in 2002. And although he filed Chapter 7 again in 2008, he was dismissed without discharge because he filed within 8 years of his first discharge.
We solved the puzzle. We found the miracle.
Because his last discharge was 20 years ago, he is eligible to file another Chapter 7 bankruptcy and the court cannot punish him—even with his track record of repeat filings. Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy reinstates the stay on the Sheriff's Sale and provides our client with 4 more months to figure out his options.
No matter what your bankruptcy history looks like, we can help you find solutions. We use the full depth of our knowledge of bankruptcy law to go above and beyond for our clients. Call today for your free consultation.