Guide to New Bankruptcy Laws

Guide to Bankruptcy

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• Part 1: Introduction to Bankruptcy
• Part 2: Types of Personal Bankruptcy
• Part 3: The Means Test
• Part 4: Credit Counseling and The I.R.S.
• Part 5: Automatic Stay Protection
• Part 6: Attorney Verification
• Part 7: Non Dischargable Debts and Personal Property Exemptions
• Part 8: The Next Bankruptcy Reform

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) passed October 17, 2005, is considered the most sweeping bankruptcy reform of our time. The United States congress passed the first set of bankruptcy mandates in 1801. Although the code itself has been amended many times over the years, the most recent set of laws have become the most dramatic and far-reaching amendments in recent history. Originally presented as a method to reduce the amount of bankruptcy abuse and fraud cases circulating through the bankruptcy courts, many of the new bankruptcy laws opponents have vibrantly protested the perceived inequality and preferential treatment granted to creditors.

If you are considering bankruptcy choices, it is important that you invest the time to understand basic bankruptcy terminology (Read the Glossary) and the true advantages or disadvantages of bankruptcy. The facts are not disputable. Congress has indeed made if far more difficult to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Today most people seeking bankruptcy will be forced into filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Never before, have people been categorically equated to a statistical financial analysis, and thereby graded against the median income of an entire state, as a measure of their capacity to meet financial obligations. With all due respect, and credit given for perhaps good intentions, it remains a precarious calculation how one particular community, may be contemptuously equate against another community clear across the state, as a standard of financial means or need. If the cost of living in one area is greater than another (living within the city limits of any major metropolitan area, as opposed to rural areas of the state) you must comply with the average standard of living for the entire state.

Once again, credit should be given for good intentions. It cannot be denied that many of our wealthiest citizens have enjoyed the privilege of filing for bankruptcy while keeping massive amounts of assets that would dwarf the means of the average citizen.

You must develop a practical understanding of our bankruptcy laws, and decide for oneself the most helpful course of action to meet your specific objectives. The final decision must always include the competent advice of a bankruptcy attorney.

The law has changed. The times have changed.