Last October a new bankruptcy law was passed that was designed to make it more difficult for people to file under Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. It specifies that in order for one to declare Chapter 7 they must first undergo credit counseling to evaluate their financial position. The problem with the new law, is that most people need the counseling long before they are at the point of bankruptcy. Once they reach that point, there is usually very little the counselors can do except tell them to go ahead and declare.
In addition, the price to declare bankruptcy has gone up as well. The fees that you must pay the court, in addition to the fees you must pay your lawyer, have increased.
Over 2 million people in the US declared bankruptcy last year alone, many of them attempting to beat the October deadline. This year only 116,771 have filed, making it the lowest number of filings since 1985. ■
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