In the last couple of years, the bankruptcy laws have changed in congress and as recent as April 2007. There was a time that a homeowner who came upon hard times could seek protection from creditors under Federal Bankruptcy laws by filing a Chapter 13 , Chapter 7 and other options and stop foreclosure. Now, times and the laws have drastically changed. The process of filing a bankruptcy to try and save your home and reorganize your debts have taken a turn with twists and curves just to be able to consider filing!
The new Bankruptcy laws according to the Department of Justice, were enacted under the following
“The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005″, which opens a new era in the history of bankruptcy law and practice, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on April 20, 2005.
The bankruptcy changes were put into effect in October of 2005.
In a nutshell, before anyone can file a petition for bankruptcy, they must obtain credit counseling within 180 days before being able to file a bankruptcy. Once you have filed a bankruptcy, you must obtain a debt management education certificate before the bankruptcy is discharged.
Before the new Bankruptcy laws, a homeowner in foreclosure could file a Bankruptcy petition and obtain an “automatic stay” at the time of filing, from the foreclosure proceedings to be able to get their home loans and other debt in order to get back on their feet! Supposedly, the “automatic stay” to immediately stop foreclosure, still exists but only after you have received approval from a counseling service approved by the Department of Justice listed here.
The Pre-Bankruptcy Counseling will cost about $50.00 for individual filers and about 65.00 for married filers. At the time of completion, you should be issued a certificate as proof that the credit counseling requirement before filing a Bankruptcy Petition, was satisfied. Many of the pre-bankruptcy counseling services allows you to complete the course over the internet for your convenience. We will bring you more on Bankruptcy as a home loan settlement process to stop foreclosure, so check back!
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