This month's Update continues the series of articles examining BAPCPA in detail. A centerpiece of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) is the means test, set forth in revised §707(b) 1 of the Code. 2 …

In order for an individual to be a debtor under BAPCPA, he or she must first comply with the credit counseling provisions of §109(h). Under this new provision, a debtor is required to receive an individual or group briefing from an approved…

In the eight-year run-up to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), the coalition of consumer lenders driving this legislation won the public relations war for bankruptcy reform. With sometimes arrogant…

In his remarks preceding the signing of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), President Bush asserted a need to restore "integrity to the bankruptcy process" by noting that "[i]n recent years, too man…

The forthcoming bankruptcy legislation poses considerable challenges for bankruptcy practitioners. There is little in the way of legislative history, and many commentators have noted the amended Code's lack of clarity and precision in a num…

Attention Homeowner: Save your homes—stop foreclosure now! Before you file bankruptcy, call me first. We refinance mortgages regardless of your credit history!" Unless your home has been listed for foreclosure, you've probably never receive…

How should a secured lender or lessor react when a borrower or lessee files a chapter 7 bankruptcy but continues to make payments? The creditor whose customer "rides through"—making payments and keeping the collateral or leased personalty, …

The consumer debt counseling industry is at a crisis point. After avoiding the limelight for 30 years, debt counselors are finally receiving the scrutiny and evaluation that their importance to the public requires. Consumer Reports presente…

The choice of chapter by consumer filers cannot be reliably predicted by economic differences among jurisdictions or by legal differences such as the variance in state exemption levels. 2 In order to explain why, for example, chapter 13 cas…