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The new bankruptcy law has provisions that make it harder for the people in debt to file bankruptcy. You probably won't lose any sleep over people who abused bankruptcy, but there are people who lose jobs or have uninsured medical expenses who the new law hurts.

You are required to do credit counseling within six months of filing your bankruptcy petition. You are also required to attend money management classes at your expense before your debts are discharged. Under the old bankruptcy law, the amount of equity in your house protected from creditors was set by the state where you filed. Under the new bankruptcy law, if you live in a state for less than two years and it has a better exemption than where you lived previously, you can't use the more favorable exemption. If you bought your house less than 40 months (that's three and a quarter years) before filing bankruptcy, or violated securities laws, or have been found guilty of certain criminal conduct, you can only exempt up to $125,000 regardless of a state's exemption.

If any of the requirements of the new law confuse you and you decide you need a bankruptcy lawyer, it's going to cost you more. If you can find a lawyer willing to take your bankruptcy case, it is going to cost you more because of the time and effort it takes the lawyer to verify your information. The president of the American Bankruptcy Institute has reported that some lawyers say they may increase their fees by 75 to 100 percent.

See 'Further Changes Brought About by the New Bankruptcy Law' for information on Chapter 13 disposable income and changes regarding personal property. There may eventually be some modifications in the law if it becomes evident it is causing more problems than it solves. It's no surprise these changes will make it harder and costlier to file bankruptcy. Under the old law, you could value your personal property at basically 'garage sale' prices.

Under the new bankruptcy law, you must value your property it the price it would cost to replace it retail, taking into account its age and condition.

Also, under the old bankruptcy rules, the exempt personal property you could keep under chapter 7 was determined by the laws of the state where you lived if you resided in the state for at leas three months.

Under the new law, you must live in a state for two years before filing bankruptcy in order to use the state's exemption laws.

More people will be forced to use chapter 13 bankruptcy under the new law.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy required that you devote all your disposable income to repaying debts. Under the old rules, you subtracted your actual expenses from your monthly income to arrive at your disposable income.

Under the new bankruptcy law, your monthly income is your average income for the six months before filing your petition. The amount of 'disposable income' left may be more than what you have to spare every month.

Under the old law, if your bankruptcy case was dismissed for any reason and you still couldn't pay your bills, it wasn't much of an issue to refile.

There are a lot of changes to the bankruptcy laws. It would probably be a good idea to consult a lawyer before you file.



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