New Bankruptcy Laws
By Giles Rutter
It is almost certain that it will also cost more.

In addition to the new credit counseling requirement for all filers and the means test for chapter 7, there are other changes in the laws. Most of the changes will cost you money one way or the other. You are also required to attend money management classes at your expense before your debts are discharged. Under the old law, the amount of equity in your house protected from creditors was set by the state where you filed.
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. Under the new law, if information provided in your case is found to be inaccurate, the lawyer is subject to various fines and fees. It will be more difficult to find an lawyer willing to handle your because of the liability and the time and effort it takes to verify all your information. The president of the American Institute has reported that some lawyers say they may increase their fees by 75 to 100 percent.

It is clear from the changes mentioned here that it's going to be more difficult and costlier to file no matter what chapter you use to file. There may eventually be some modifications in the law if it becomes evident it is causing more problems than it solves. It's no surprise these changes will make it harder and costlier to file bankruptcy. 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 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 in order to use the state's exemption laws.
More people will be forced to use chapter 13 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 law, your monthly income is your average income for the six months before filing your petition. These amounts are often lower than your actual costs.
Under the old law, if your 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. Even if the lawyer will not take you on as a client to file bankruptcy, they may be willing to give you legal advice.

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.