Wednesday, December 4, 2024 |
Bankruptcy change legislation passed Congress last week in a 302 to 126 vote and was signed into law 4/20/05 by President Bush (Whitehouse Press Release). The changes introduced by this bill are tough on consumers and good for banks. Banks are having their cake and eating it too, as the hackneyed-cliché goes. This bill has been in the works for eight years. President Clinton vetoed the measure back in 2000 and the banks have been fighting ever since then to get it back on the table. Success for them is at hand, unfortunately for us. The idea behind amending the bankruptcy law is to stop people from taking advantage of the system. Stop those who would abuse the law by hiding their assets in states where exemptions allow this protection and then claiming bankruptcy, thereby shedding their debt but still holding on to equity. The reality is that the vast majority of those people seeking bankruptcy protection are not defrauding the system. These are legitimate claims of people who need a fresh start which is what bankruptcy law should be about. Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren, in her bankruptcy study found that the 90% or more of bankruptcies are still filed by people who get sick, get laid off, or get divorced, not by abusers. Even the industry can only show that 3% of those that go bankrupt might be abusing the system, still, this new law would harm all debtors. Here are a few highlights of how bankruptcy law is affected: Chapter 7 means test Increased cost of going bankrupt Cost of living Forced credit counseling |
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