Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Wisconsin

Second Bankruptcy ?

Is there any sanction or jaundiced eye cast by the dourts on a second bankruptcy ?

I'll try to make this short. My friends ex-spouse filed bankruptcy about 18 yrs ago to try to get out of joint debts from before the divorce, (it worked), and to get child support reduced.

Fast forward to today...he apparently spent a ifetime not paying anybody...no child support, the IRS is after him, he's being sued by at least one credit card co.,his house was nearly in foreclosure, the list goes on.

Anyway, he's filing bankruptcy again which will delay both the gov't. from filing on him and my friend's lawyer from filing on him re: the child support.

My question: When he appears in bankruptcy court will the judge be suspicious of a two-time filer?

Here is a guy who has never been held responsible for paying anyone...

is there no recourse to this kind of bankruptcy abuse?

Thank you,


Asked on 8/20/00, 12:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Re: Second Bankruptcy ?

I doubt whether a previous bankruptcy discharge

18 years ago will cause any problem the second

time around. Federal law allows a chapter 7

discharge every six years. There is no such

waiting period for filing a chapter 13--one can be filed

immediately after a chapter 7 case. That scenario,

however, does sometime raise suspicion, although the courts

are split on it. The combination of a chapter

7 to get rid of unsecured debt, followed by

a chapter 13 to save a home or cure a default

on any other secured debt, is unofficially known as "chapter 20". Repetitive

filings to frustrate a secured creditor trying to lift

the stay are also frowned upon.

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Answered on 9/26/00, 10:27 am


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