WARNING: Every Bankruptcy Case Counts
Oops I filed again
It counts every time you do
No protection here
Some people may not realize the ramifications of filing multiple bankruptcies within a short period of time. Under the bankruptcy code, 362(d)(4), if you file enough bankruptcies, it can be presumptively considered abuse, meaning the benefits you were looking to receive on your second, third, fourth, etc. bankruptcy may not be available to you.
Some negative consequences of filing multiple bankruptcies can be: the bankruptcy court will presumptively presume that you are trying to fraudulently creating a delay from your creditors being able to collect on your debt so the automatic stay may not be in effect, you may not be eligible for a discharge, can be sanctioned in the form of not being able to file for bankruptcy for a certain period of time.
To reiterate, when someone files more than 1 bankruptcy, the below can sometimes happen:
The automatic stay may not go into effect or terminate after 30 days of filing
You might not receive a discharge
You might be banned from filing for bankruptcy for a period of time
You could be sanctioned by the Bankruptcy Court
An experienced bankruptcy attorney will understand how to strategically time your bankruptcy filing, to lessen these negative ramifications, and if hired early enough, prevent the unnecessary multiple filings to begin with. Although some people may believe they are not able to afford an attorney, meet with an attorney that provides a free consultation to at least get some well guided advise.
As reference, the U.S. Trustee posted an article on what happens when a person does not have an attorney to help them with filing for bankruptcy: https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/filing-without-attorney