New Bankruptcy Laws

The new bankruptcy law has provisions that make it harder for the people in debt to file bankruptcy.

In addition to the new credit counseling requirement for all filers and the means test for chapter 7, there are other changes in the bankruptcy laws. Most of the changes will cost you money one way or the other.
There are new residency requirements. In Florida, your home would have been exempt no matter how long you lived there.
If you have been moving around, the exemption of the state where you lived most of the time before the two-year period is used. It gets more complicated.
If any of the requirements of the new law confuse you and you decide you need a bankruptcy lawyer, it's going to cost you more. It will be more difficult to find an lawyer willing to handle your bankruptcy because of the liability and the time and effort it takes to verify all your information.
If you do find an lawyer willing to file, it will cost you a lot more.
See 'Further Changes Brought About by the New Bankruptcy Law' for information on Chapter 13 disposable income and changes regarding personal property. There may eventually be some modifications in the law if it becomes evident it is causing more problems than it solves.

If you are allowed to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there are changes in how your personal property is valued. That meant most, if not all your personal property would fall within the exempt property categories of most states. Since you have to come up with a retail price and your lawyer has to certify it's correct, you just about have to have an appraiser to the valuation.
Also, under the old bankruptcy rules, the exempt personal property you could keep under chapter 7 was determined by the laws of the state where you lived if you resided in the state for at leas three months.
Under the new law, you must live in a state for two years before filing bankruptcy in order to use the state's exemption laws.
More people will be forced to use chapter 13 bankruptcy under the new law. That sounds reasonable to a lot of us. Under the old rules, you subtracted your actual expenses from your monthly income to arrive at your disposable income.
Under the new bankruptcy law, your monthly income is your average income for the six months before filing your petition. The amount of 'disposable income' left may be more than what you have to spare every month.
Under the old law, if your bankruptcy case was dismissed for any reason and you still couldn't pay your bills, it wasn't much of an issue to refile. The new law limits debt relief if you are filing after a prior case was dismissed. It would probably be a good idea to consult an lawyer before you file.

Article Source: Main Articles

Giles Rutter is a writer and webmaster with experience of debt. He has contributed to Bankruptcy Law. You are welcome to use this article in your website or blog provided that you leave this resource box intact.

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