Consumer Law

Consumer Banktruptcies Soar Despite Restrictions Enacted by Congress in 2005

By Brian Wolfman

Check out this front page article in today's Washington Post discussing the significant increase in consumer bankruptcies, despite Congress's enactment in 2005 of legislation intended to tighten eligibility for bankruptcy.  As the article puts it:  "Despite the 2005 passage of a law that made it more difficult and expensive to file for personal bankruptcy, more Americans are choosing bankruptcy over destitution. Filings -- including Chapter 7, which wipes out debt, and Chapter 13, which reorganizes it -- totaled 822,590 last year, up 38 percent from 2006." The article discusses particular examples of working families so hard-pressed that bankruptcy was their only option.

Full post as published by CL&P Blog on May 28, 2008 (boomark / email).