You must understand that having your bankruptcy case dismissed is different than having it discharged, closed, and converted. Essentially, this means that your bankruptcy case proceedings have ended without having your eligible debts erased, and your outstanding creditors may resume their collection activities. As you can likely tell from this basic description, this is something that you do not want the New York State Bankruptcy Court to order for you. Well, with that being said, please read on to discover what typically causes a bankruptcy dismissal and how a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C., can help you avoid this outcome.
What actions might cause a bankruptcy dismissal?
You must remember that consumer bankruptcy is a strict legal procedure, and any small misstep may trigger a dismissal of your case altogether. Below are more specific examples of the actions that might drive the New York State Bankruptcy Court toward this decision:
- You may miss deadlines for filing mandatory paperwork, and the court needs to proceed with its tight schedule.
- You may have skipped your credit counseling sessions before filing, or your debtor education sessions after filing.
- The court may believe that you have committed a bad-faith filing, in which you are attempting to delay or defraud creditors.
- In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you may consistently miss or fall short of your court-ordered monthly repayments to creditors.
Can I refile my bankruptcy case after it has been dismissed?
It may be somewhat of a hassle to restart your bankruptcy journey after getting your initial case dismissed. But this is not to say that it is impossible. In an ideal scenario, the New York State Bankruptcy Court may dismiss your case without prejudice. This means they only saw fault in noncompliance with the bankruptcy procedure, but not necessarily an intentional abuse of the bankruptcy system. With this type of dismissal, you may be eligible to file for bankruptcy again, as soon as you can fix the error that initiated your dismissal in the first place.
This may not be such a quick fix if the court dismissed your case with prejudice. That is, you may be subject to a 180-day waiting period before you can refile for bankruptcy. You must understand, though, that the bankruptcy judge may use their discretion to impose a longer waiting period, or even a permanent bar from discharging the debts that existed at the time of your initial filing. They may do so if they have reason to believe that you committed bankruptcy misconduct, by hiding assets, delaying creditors, defrauding creditors, etc.
While we understand that you may not want to deal with any of this right now, it must be addressed for the sake of you and your financial well-being. So please allow a competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney from The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C., to make this legal process less burdensome for you overall. We will be happy to help and give you much-needed relief.
