2005

We've all heard the rationale for bankruptcy reform at cocktail parties and around the dinner table: Any deadbeat who runs up his bills can, before he pays up, run away and buy a house in Florida. The creditors can't touch his homestead. When the spendthrift files a

Questions concerning what relief the Bankruptcy Code affords to persons seeking to discharge their government-related student loans are, in all likelihood, a common topic of discussion between most potential debtors and their bankruptcy counsel. While most bankruptcy

Consumer protection laws regulating debt collection practices are a complex minefield of potential liability for creditors and other debt collectors. Large damage awards, provisions for recovery of attorneys' fees and increased awareness and interest in consumer

Editor's Note: Part II of this article will appear in the March 2005 issue. On Dec. 1, 2004, counsel for the debtors and their panel trustee squared off before the Supreme Court. The Court had granted certiorari in June to resolve a split among three circuits on an

Few provisions in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) have generated as much interest and inquiry as the new requirements that debtors obtain pre-filing budget and credit counseling and complete a post-filing instructional course

Student loan obligations are becoming not only more prevalent but also significantly larger. There is no doubt that several factors are driving this situation— e.g., the ever-increasing cost of post-secondary education and the decreasing value of a baccalaureate degree

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 number of amendments. There is

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 1 (Reform) mandates pre-filing credit and budget counseling for consumers seeking bankruptcy protection under both chapters 7 and 13. This provision has remained consistent throughout the bill's many

The possibility of a bankruptcy filing has always affected the pre-bankruptcy conduct of both debtors and creditors. Yet several of the changes the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) made to the Bankruptcy Code go even further in an