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BANKRUPTCY LAWS
President Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 into law in April, 2005. This reform is the culmination of unrelenting attempts by banks and the credit industry over the years to make filing bankruptcy tougher on consumer debtors. Most provisions of the new legislation will take effect in mid-October 2005. The new law will require, among other things, that a debtor receive credit counseling and prove that her income falls below a figure set for their particular state. Another important change is that debtors will be required to produce a burdensome amount of documents for the bankruptcy court. Most importantly, perhaps, for senior and disabled debtors, attorneys will undoubtedly have to increase their fees because of the significant increase in work involved. As a result, filing bankruptcy will be even less available to those on limited incomes.
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