Eight years ago this month, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, otherwise known as BAPCPA. The new law brought about sweeping changes to bankruptcy law in the United States and was stated to have been enacted in order to minimize the abuses that were occurring with consumers who were allegedly taking advantage of the old system. While most eight-year anniversaries are relatively low-key affairs, the one relating to the BAPCPA is significant for many people, as it means that those who rushed to file bankruptcy cases before passage of the bill into law have now endured the waiting period for filing another case.

It used to be that people who encountered serious financial difficulties and who filed for bankruptcy protection as a result needed to wait for six years before filing for bankruptcy protection once again. BAPCPA extended that waiting period to eight years, which means that as of now many people are eligible to look into discharging the debt that they may have accumulated since October of 2005. Given all that has happened since that date, this could provide much-needed relief for many people.

When the BAPCPA was passed, few if any people foresaw the historic economic storm that was looming just a couple years down the road. At the time, the economy was booming at least on superficial levels and almost no one thought that millions of people would encounter the need for protection from the United States Bankruptcy Code. As such, it was seen as a relatively low-risk proposition to pass the bill into law.

We all know what has happened since: the worst economic recession since the Great Depression strangled the economy and put millions of people out of work and out of their homes. It also left an untold number of people in a serious lurch if they had filed for bankruptcy protection just prior to the passage of BAPCPA but were unable to do so again because they had not yet waited the required eight years to do so.

That time has now passed, but for many people the process of filing another bankruptcy case will also be different. That’s because there are new requirements that will change the way people approach this situation.

Examples of these changes include:
· The means test
· The credit counseling requirement
· Higher court filing fees
· Additional documentation requirements

All of this means that people who have been waiting to provide themselves with a fresh financial start need to avoid the assumption that since they have been through this before that they can easily handle this filing by themselves. This assumption could lead to serious mistakes and to even more financial stress.

Instead, people in the area who find themselves in this situation need to make sure that they meet with experienced Bankruptcy attorneys who have helped thousands of people in this current environment. David Weil with Golden State Law Group has been helping people become debt free by filing bankruptcy for the past 38 years and he offers free private consultations. If you have any questions about how to become debt free, please call 619-234-3333 for your Free Private Debt Evaluation.