Wednesday, February 15, 2012

With Personal Bankruptcy Filings Declining, Bankruptcy Lawyers Speculate Possible Causes

A recent article from the Springfield Business Journal reports that national bankruptcy filings have dropped eight percent in the last year, leaving many bankruptcy law attorneys speculating about the cause of the downturn.

One of those attorneys is Macey Bankruptcy Law Partner Rick Gustafson. Quoted in the Journal's article, Gustafson believes that one of the possible reasons for the decline is the increased burden that the 2005 bankruptcy reforms placed on filers.

Under the new reforms, anyone filing for bankruptcy must complete a "means test," which requires additional paperwork documented proof of disposable income. Gustafson says that it is providing the documented proof and of income that is making the bankruptcy process all the more challenging.

"People, in general, are not good record keepers," Gustafson says. "And whenever there is a law change that requires someone to be a better record keeper that creates burdens."

Read the rest of the article at Market Watch

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