In rare cases, you may want to cancel a bankruptcy filing. Perhaps you thought you were going to lose everything, for example, but then you inherited money that you never knew was coming to you. Suddenly, you have more than enough to make ends meet and things aren’t as dire as you once believed. Can you cancel the filing, or do you now have to go forward with it?
In short, you absolutely can cancel the filing. There is no need to use Chapter 7 bankruptcy if your financial situation has changed so drastically.
However, don’t just ignore the filing and assume it will go away in time if you do nothing else. There are important legal steps to take, starting with the filing of a Motion to Dismiss. This is a legal document asking the court to throw your filing out.
On top of that, it’s worth noting that the Motion to Dismiss can be denied. In the above example, with the inherited money, the court could theoretically deny you on the grounds that your creditors will be harmed if you don’t file bankruptcy. The court would rather go through the process, use that money to pay your creditors during liquidation and then resolve it that way.
Again, every case is different. You may be able to simply pay your creditors off yourself, if you have enough money to do it, and then the court will see that those creditors won’t be harmed and will grant you the dismissal.
This process can take some time, as trustees have the right to object, and so you must know about all of the upcoming meetings and other legal obligations you have in New York.
Source: The Nest, “How to Cancel a Bankruptcy After It’s Been Filed,” John Csiszar, accessed March 11, 2016