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…
Means testing is the heart of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). It provides a very detailed formula for determining when abuse arises in the case of an individual debtor with primarily consumer de…
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. Wh…
Senate Banking Committee members criticized a number of credit card industry marketing and fee practices during an oversight hearing on May 17. Several members of the committee, including committee chair Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), expressed c…
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, following up on prior hearings and recommendations, has released a bipartisan report critical of credit counseling industry practices. The report also calls for a number of reforms. "Over…
This month's Update contains excerpts from a synopsis of S. 256, prepared by Thomas J. Yerbich, vice chair of ABI's Consumer Bankruptcy Committee. The excerpt covers changes made to chapters 7, 11 and 13, debtor's duties, exemptions, exclus…
State Debt Collection Laws The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to debt-collection practices throughout the nation, even those that are purely intrastate in nature, and thus it essentially is a "uniform" law in eve…
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 an…