Refiling Chapter 13 in Jacksonville

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REFILING CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY

When I started practicing bankruptcy law 20 years ago, Chapter 13 was a revolving door of refiling. A case would be dismissed and we would immediately have the client in our office to re-file and start a new 60 month plan. Sometimes it seemed that the 5 year Chapter 13 Plan was really morphing into a 10-15 year process.

A couple of things changed to stop the revolving door. First, the Bankruptcy Code amendments of 2005 made it much more difficult to immediately refile after a dismissal. You now have to have Court approval to extend the stay/protection past the initial 30 days after filing. If you have to re-file twice within a year after the initial dismissal, then you receive no stay/protection unless the Judge imposes the stay within 30 days of the filing. At each type of hearing, you are required to prove that the dismissal was caused by unforeseen circumstances and that the new case was filed in good faith due a change in those previous circumstances.

The second big change was the introduction of mortgage modification to Chapter 13 in Jacksonville. Now, we don’t have to cure the entire mortgage arrears during the 5 year plan. Instead, a mortgage modification may allow for a re-amortization of the outstanding balance on the mortgage over a new 30-40 year term at a reduced interest rate. This has significantly increased the success rate of our Chapter 13 cases and cut down on the refiling rate.

If you do need to re-file your Chapter 13 case, we routinely have clients refile and receive the protection of the Court due to a change in circumstances. If you are considering changing attorneys or have experienced some issues in your current 13 and need another start, contact us and we will be happy to discuss your re-file options.

At Mickler & Mickler, we attend Court on a regular basis. We have the experience and knowledge to ensure that you receive the correct advice when confronted with difficult financial decisions related to filing bankruptcy. Contact us at 904.725.0822 orbkmickler@planlaw.com.

 

Bryan K. Mickler