Cleveland Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

Prospective clients often ask how long they have to wait to file for bankruptcy protection under the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act if they have previously filed. Here is a quick guide to the time periods that apply to re-filing:

• You cannot file Chapter 7 until eight years from the date of the previous filing
(not the date of discharge) of the previous Chapter 7.

• You cannot file a Chapter 13 unless you received a discharge under Chapter 7
more than four (4) years ago or under Chapter 13 more than two (2) years ago.

The above timelines refer to discharge dates (cases that were completed).

If you are currently in an active Chapter 13 bankruptcy that you cannot or no longer wish to complete, then there are provisions for converting a Chapter 7 to a Chapter 13. This might occur, for example, if you lose the job that is funding your Chapter 13 plan or decide that you no longer wish to keep your house.

To learn more about re-filing or the differences between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, you should contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney.

Last week Fair Isaac Corporation began offering what they claim is a new and improved FICO credit score dubbed "FICO 08." TransUnion, LLC (one of the three major credit bureaus) also announced it will begin offering the new FICO score with the two other major credit bureaus expected to follow soon. The FICO score is a score developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation in an attempt to evaluate a borrower's likelihood of default.

Fair Isaac claims the new FICO 08 score will give lenders a "predictive boost where lenders need it most." The score will retain the same credit range, from 300 to 850 (the higher the better). However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the new score is supposed to be more forgiving to those that have just one slip-up or late payment and significantly harder on repeat offenders. Fair Isaac also claims the new score is also supposed to provide a more thorough or "deeper" analysis of poor credit borrowers and borrowers with little or "thin" credit history. Fair Isaac has said that consumers with accounts in good standing may see their score rise slightly and that the overall accuracy of credit decisions should increase by up to fifteen percent.

Ultimately, the new FICO 08 will probably not have a significant impact on most Ohio consumers for quite some time. The Wall Street Journal reports that it could be "months or even years before the score is widely available to consumers" because most lenders will want to take time to evaluate the score and determine how well it works with their processes before implementing it and some lenders may even choose not to use the new score.

To learn more about your credit score, please see the prior entry Get to Know Your Credit Score Ohio. For information on where and how to get your credit report, please see the prior entry Ohio Credit Concerns: How Long Will a Bankruptcy Filing Stay on My Credit Report?