Cancelling and Refiling Bankruptcy chapter 7

[leedspaddy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VT

Since we filed without an attorney back in June in VT, we have continued to have bad luck. We moved to PA, and before my medical coverage kicked in from my new job, my wife had to go into hospital for a medical emergency**************.....we cannot pay this huge bill. I have a couple of questions, I was told by other posters that I could cancel my original filing and refile to include the new debt but ido I have to wait for a set length of time between canceling and refiling? Secondly, can I refile in VT where all of my debts apart from this new one originated or will I have to refile in PA? Lastly, at the time of filing I was unemployed and since then my financial circumstances have improved a little with me working but is there any website to find out the income means test to see whether I will have refile for chapter 7 or chapter 13?
Thanks for any advice.

[nrknlknek]

Dis you obtain a discharge from the BK filing in VT? If not, you may be able to amend the petition.

[racer72]

From a federal court website:
An individual cannot file under chapter 7 or any other chapter, however, if during the preceding 180 days a prior bankruptcy petition was dismissed due to the debtor's willful failure to appear before the court or comply with orders of the court, or the debtor voluntarily dismissed the previous case after creditors sought relief from the bankruptcy court to recover property upon which they hold liens.

If your previous case has been discharged, it's too late. If the previous filing has not been discharged, you can voluntarily dismiss the case and wait 6 months but this means the automatic stay of collections will be lifted and your creditors will be allowed to start their collection efforts again. By then you will be a resident of Pennsylvania and would have to file there.

Originally Posted by nrknlknek

If not, you may be able to amend the petition.

Wrong. Debts incurred 90 days prior to filing bankruptcy and those incurred after filing cannot be included.

[Ladynred]

In addition, you may not be able to cancel your current Ch 7 anyway - it's not that simple with a Ch 7, the court and/or the trustee may not allow it. Your better choice may be to convert to a Ch 13 and include the new debts.

IF you manage to dismiss the Ch 7, and after the waiting period, your next filing will be classed as a serial filing, and your protection under the automatic stay will be reduced or could be non-existent.

You can find the info on means testing here:
[url=http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/meanstesting.htm]U.S. Trustee Program/Dept. of Justice[/url]