My last blog discussed the first item on the list of changes to the Personal Bankruptcy Law after 2005 that is posted on The American Bankruptcy Institute site. I want to continue with a review of the list of changes.

• The next area on the list that is discussed is mandatory credit counseling. You cannot be a debtor under title 11 unless you receive credit counseling from an “approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency” within 180 days prior to filing.
• The third area involves a limit on auto lien-stripping under Chapter 13. (Stripping down an auto lien means you reduce the debt you owe on your vehicle by reducing your payment to the value of the car only. You also may obtain a decrease in your interest rate.) “A Chapter 13 plan must provide that a secured creditor retain its lien until the payment of the entire debt, not just the secured portion, where the creditor holds a security interest in a motor vehicle purchased within 910 days of the filing.”
• The fourth area is about mandatory debtor education. A Chapter 13 discharge cannot be granted unless you have completed an education course in personal financial management that is approved by the U.S. Trustee. You may be denied discharge under §727 if you do not complete the course.
• The next topic entails the scope of discharge. Any debts you owe to a single credit that exceeds more than five hundred dollars for luxury items incurred within ninety days of filing bankruptcy are considered non-dischargeable. And cash advances of seven hundred fifty dollars within seventy days of filing are also non-dischargeable.
• The sixth and seventh issue listed relates to serial bankruptcy filings. You will not be granted a discharge under Chapter 13 if you obtained a discharge under a Chapter 7, Chapter 11, or Chapter 12 bankruptcy within four years before the date of filing the present case. This will not prevent you from filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy to receive the benefits of a stay. You cannot receive a discharge under Chapter 7 if a prior discharge was received within eight years of the new filing.

If you have any questions and live in Denver, Aurora, Arvada, Boulder, Brighton, Broomfield, Commerce City, Englewood, Golden, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, Lafayette, Littleton, Northglenn, Westminster, or Wheat Ridge, Colorado please feel free to contact me. Kevin D. Heupel, Colorado Bankruptcy lawyer, 303-955-7570, COBankruptcyHelpEmail, free-consultation form.