Boston Bankruptcy Attorney

BAPCPA Requirements

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, or BAPCPA, is the 2005 law that made significant changes to the way in which bankruptcy is filed. This is the law that instituted the means test for Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings as well as several other requirements.

These requirements were put in place in order to dissuade people from filing for bankruptcy. In order to facilitate this, the BAPCPA made it much more difficult to file in general, and added several requirements, some of which are as follows:

• The time between discharges was increased. Before 2005, Chapter 7 could be filed every 6 years. Now, however, you must wait at least 8 years before you can file for Chapter 7 again.
• You must also receive debtor education and credit counseling courses. This must be accomplished through approved, nonprofit agencies.

In addition to these requirements, the BAPCPA made filing for bankruptcy more difficult by doing the following:

• There is now extra paperwork that must be filled out, making the process much longer and somewhat more difficult.
• There are also fewer protections. The automatic stay can do much less now than it could before 2005, making bankruptcy more than just a backup plan.
• This law also increased the amount of debt that has to be repaid under Chapter 13.

Every one of these requirements and added difficulties was meant to make bankruptcy more difficult and less popular. However, bankruptcy can be a very necessary thing. If you are considering bankruptcy, it will be a difficult process.

Speak with a Boston Bankruptcy Lawyer

Contact the Boston bankruptcy attorney of Joshua Spirn & Associates at 800-957-5346.