Victims of both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita may now file for bankruptcy without many of the filing requirements facing most debtors today.
The United States Department of Justice recently waived these new requirements for all residents of communities devastated by these hurricanes. The recently enacted Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act of 2005 would have prevented untold numbers of people displaced by the hurricanes from filing for the bankruptcy protection they may desperately need.
Requirements that have been lifted for Katrina and Rita survivors include:
• The means test
• Mandatory credit counseling
• Documentation to avoid collection actions
Additionally, any survivors that need to go to a creditors’ meeting get to meet with their creditors at a meeting place close to where they currently live, even if in another state. For example, someone from Louisiana who lost their home and now lives in Texas can meet with a creditor within the state of Texas.
Representatives of the United State Trustee Program, a division of the Department of Justice, have been given the responsibility of setting up any required creditors’ meetings.
The lifting of the restrictive new bankruptcy requirements will likely help many survivors who have lost everything to pick up the pieces and get on with their lives without crushing debts weighing down on them.
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