Posted on: 24th Dec, 2005 10:30am
If you are facing difficulty to make payments on your debts and want to get rid of them, you can file bankruptcy (BK) to have them discharged. However, in certain situations, your BK case can be dismissed even before your debts are discharged. Bankruptcy dismissal refers to the pre-mature closure of your case prior to getting a discharge. Read through the sections below to find out the reasons behind dismissal and what options you have after the dismissal.
- When can bankruptcy be dismissed?
- What happens after a bankruptcy dismissal?
- Do you have any option after the dismissal?
- How does a dismissal affect your credit?
When can BK be dismissed?
- Chapter 7 can be dismissed under the following circumstances.
Voluntary dismissal: If you do not intend to go ahead with your BK case, you can request the court to have it dismissed. The judge will dismiss your case, as long as he thinks it does not affect your creditor's ability to collect the debt from you.
Inability to follow rules: If you fail to follow the BK rules, your case can be dismissed for the following reasons:
- You do not pay the fees and costs associated with BK.
- You cause unnecessary delay in your case.
- You do not file necessary paperwork and fail to provide the court with required information.
Abuse of Chapter 7: If you abuse the Federal laws regarding chapter 7, it can result in a dismissed bankruptcy under the following circumstances:
- You filed your case in bad faith
- You have filed Chapter 7 even though you can pay off most of your debts through Chapter 13.
- You live a luxurious life even after filing BK.
- Your Chapter 13 case can be dismissed under the following situations.
- You do not file a repayment plan within time.
- You fail to make timely payments.
- Your repayment plan is not confirmed or your request for additional time to file another plan is denied.
What happens after a bankruptcy dismissal?
Once you file BK, the automatic stay comes into effect. This stops your creditors from taking any action against you, like a foreclosure, garnishment, lawsuit, etc. After the case is dismissed, the automatic stay is revoked and your creditors are free to come after you for the outstanding debts.
Do you have any option after the dismissal?
You always have the option of re-filing bankruptcy after dismissal. However, if you re-file within 1 year of the previous dismissal, the automatic stay will be effective only for a period of 30 days. You will have to file a motion to extend the stay immediately after re-filing your case. The BK judge will assess your situation and will either accept or deny your request for the extension.
However, you cannot re-file your case after dismissal, if your previous Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case was dismissed within the last 180 days for the following reasons:
However, you cannot re-file your case after dismissal, if your previous Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 case was dismissed within the last 180 days for the following reasons:
- You had your previous bankruptcy dismissed after a creditor sought relief from automatic stay.
- You did not obey court order.
- Your previous filing was considered fraudulent.
How does a dismissal affect your credit?
A dismissal affects your credit in a negative way. It shows up on your credit report for 7-10 years, though its adverse impact diminishes with time.
I filed a BK which was dismissed. Any options left now?
Welcome Guest,
You will have to refile your bankruptcy once again after it has been dismissed. You will have to contact your attorney and he will assist you further in this matter.
You will have to refile your bankruptcy once again after it has been dismissed. You will have to contact your attorney and he will assist you further in this matter.
My Chapter 13 BK Case was dismissed without prejudice recently. I made payments on time and in full for five years. In the final month, the Motion to Dismiss was filed by Trustee. For what specific reason, I am unsure. I have contacted Mort Co about loan modification and have filled out all paperwork and returned it to them. Payment was altered to a lower amount. Would it behoove me to refile or just say 'To heck with it,' and make payments to Mort Co from now on?
My case was dismissed because of failure to make a payment. What would be the best course of action? Re file chapter 13 or sell the house and try to pay the creditors by making a payment plan? Am I still bound by court rules or can I try to take care of it on my own?
Hi!
Welcome to forums!
To SpunkyMonkey,
If you have been making the payments on time, then the bankruptcy trustee cannot dismiss the case. Without waiting any further, you should contact your attorney and trustee and check out why your case has been dismissed. They are liable to clarify the matter to you.
To VFlores,
You can refile your bankruptcy and make payments as per the payment plan and pay off the debts. This will help you in saving your property.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
Welcome to forums!
To SpunkyMonkey,
If you have been making the payments on time, then the bankruptcy trustee cannot dismiss the case. Without waiting any further, you should contact your attorney and trustee and check out why your case has been dismissed. They are liable to clarify the matter to you.
To VFlores,
You can refile your bankruptcy and make payments as per the payment plan and pay off the debts. This will help you in saving your property.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
i have made all payments for the last 5 yrs on time, we recieved dismissal papers last yr and they extended the plan stating there was other debt that was missed so the trustee extended the plan for 1 to 3 yrs at that point so this time when we received the paper again for dismissal i figure they would extend it again instead they dismissed the bk with a 5000 balance and said we defaulted IM CONFUSED WE HAVE PAID EVERY PAYMENT AND NOW AFTER 5 YRS OF PAYING WE ARE BACK TO LOSING OUR HOME WHAT DO I DO IM SCARED
Hi Guest!
Welcome to forums!
This is really a tough situation. You should have a word with your bankruptcy attorney and take his opinion in this matter. If you've made all your payments on time, then you should be able to retain the property.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
Welcome to forums!
This is really a tough situation. You should have a word with your bankruptcy attorney and take his opinion in this matter. If you've made all your payments on time, then you should be able to retain the property.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
My husband and I are almost done with our bankruptcy, however for reasons I won't get into on here we are being dismissed. Our cars have been paid in full (from the plan) and arrears are paid in full (from the plan) the only thing that is not paid in full is unsecured debt. Will it be possible to negotiate with our creditors for our unsecured debt after dismissal? Has anyone ever done this? I am assuming our cars and home will be a non-issue as we are paid up on and current on the house and cars are paid off...Thank you
Hi MERDD!
Welcome to forums!
You will be able to negotiate with your creditors in order to get a payment plan for your unsecured debts after your bankruptcy dismissal. However, it will be creditor's discretion whether or not he will be ready to negotiate with you.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
Welcome to forums!
You will be able to negotiate with your creditors in order to get a payment plan for your unsecured debts after your bankruptcy dismissal. However, it will be creditor's discretion whether or not he will be ready to negotiate with you.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
ill file for bk but i never went through the process but the dismiss bk show up on my credit report as dismiss with zero balance how can i remove it :lol:
Welcome rgonzales,
Though your bankruptcy filing was dismissed, it will be mentioned in your credit report for the next 7 years like any other negative item. You won't be able to remove it from your credit report before that.
Though your bankruptcy filing was dismissed, it will be mentioned in your credit report for the next 7 years like any other negative item. You won't be able to remove it from your credit report before that.
today we went to the meeting 341 and my lawyer did not tell us about the first check the we have to bring. my case was dismiss because we did no bring the check and the trustee said the we can re-file six months later.
can we file again before six months?
should we find anoather lawyer?
which are our options?
thanks
can we file again before six months?
should we find anoather lawyer?
which are our options?
thanks
Hi AM!
Welcome to forums!
As far as I know, you'll be able to file bankruptcy again within 6 months as your last bankruptcy filing was dismissed. You should definitely find a new bankruptcy lawyer for yourself who will guide you with your bankruptcy filing.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
Welcome to forums!
As far as I know, you'll be able to file bankruptcy again within 6 months as your last bankruptcy filing was dismissed. You should definitely find a new bankruptcy lawyer for yourself who will guide you with your bankruptcy filing.
Feel free to ask if you've further queries.
Sussane
i have been paying on the bk ch 13 for 37 months i have had missed payment and three plan modifications. each time i missed a my payments the modification would increased my payment and now its to the point were i cant make ends meet. my biggest worry is getting IRS pid off which it is everything else i can deal with. I wouold like to know what happens to my money the trustee is holding to pay my depts? will it be consumed by the courts ? will the trustee divide it to pay my depts? or will it be returned to me? or will the trustee consume the funds
Hi Guest,
As far as I know, the trustee will use the money in order to pay off your debts. Nevertheless, you should have a word with your bankruptcy attorney and he will guide you better in this matter.
Thanks
As far as I know, the trustee will use the money in order to pay off your debts. Nevertheless, you should have a word with your bankruptcy attorney and he will guide you better in this matter.
Thanks
We currently have an income of $1500 and owe monthly debts in excess of $1573. Bankruptcy costs are $625 a month. What alternatives do we have and if we must change to a Chapter 7 what can we keep?