Can I Have Too Much Debt to File Bankruptcy?

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In terms of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy you cannot have too much debt to qualify.  There is no minimum debt amount to be eligible to file for a Chapter 7.  However, since a person can only file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy once every 8 years, it is important to determine that the time that you file your bankruptcy that your debt is absolutely too much for you to pay back.

For a Chapter 13 bankruptcy there are some limits in regards to having too much debt.  A person can have no more than $360,475 of unsecured debt, which an example of unsecured debt would be credit cards and/or medical bills and no more than $1,081,400 in secured debt.  The best examples of secured debts would be a house or car.  The restrictions for a chapter 13 bankruptcy are based upon the time constraints that a person will actually be in bankruptcy.  A person is required to pay back a portion of their debts within 60 months while in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and this time frame helps determine the amounts that you will be paying each month to the trustee.

Therefore, you cannot have too much debt to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy but you may have too much debt to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If you are unable to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy then you could always file a Chapter 7 instead.