The New Bankruptcy Law Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bankruptcy has been the answer to extremely troubling and difficult financial times for many people in America. Many individuals, for one reason or another, have found it to be the new start in life that they desperately needed. Unfortunately, bankruptcy has also served as a crutch to many as well, allowing them to relinquish debt that they were completely capable, however selfishly unwilling, to pay. As with any law, or policy, Americans are forced to accept the good with the bad, choosing which outweighs the other. In an effort to combat the increasingly growing abuse of the bankruptcy laws in our system today President George Bush has signed into law a new bill that many hope will help to alleviate much of this.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bankruptcy laws began to surface in the United States in the early 1800’s. Initially being created to temporarily relieve bad economic conditions caused by land disputes, community panic, and then, finally, the Civil War. During this time there was little protection for the consumer that found their personal life in financial ruin. Prior to the creation of Bankruptcy laws debtors were severely punished by loss of property, or in some places imprisonment, if they were unable to repay a debt they owed. The idea of a Bankruptcy law was promising for society, however, these laws all did very little to protect the debtor and where repealed shortly after being created. As the need increased, more bankruptcy laws were later created that would better serve to protect the public debtor whether they were individuals or business that required aide for debt relief. It was the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 that was passed in 1978 that served substantially revamp bankruptcy practices. Two major changes occurred for the bankruptcy act; the first, Chapter 11, which would prove to be a strong business reorganization Chapter, and the second, Chapter 13, which replaced the old Chapter 13 allowing individual access to a more powerful personal bankruptcy. In general, the Reform Act of 1978 made it easier for both businesses and individuals to file for bankruptcy and to reorganize their assets. Of course, this wasn’t the end for reformation concerning the bankruptcy bill. Beginning with President Bill Clinton, in the mid 1990’s, a need for reform regarding bankruptcy policies has continuously been recognized... ...de. It is a great idea to place more stringent laws on bankruptcy codes, but there must be room for adjustment when special circumstances arise in a case. Rarely is the cause of a situation of financial difficulty that a family endures either viewable in black or white, and the new bill must take this into consideration. Although many, I’m sure, abuse bankruptcy laws, there is an overwhelming amount of proof that many more have used the law in the manner that it was created for. I guess you could say that I have no real solution to the problem and I can only suggest further study in the matter. We as a nation must remember that the decisions we make, or allow others to have the authority to make on our behalf, effect everyone in our society, and not just a select few so they must be well thought out, and above all, FAIR. References: http://www.bankruptcylawfirms.com/History-Bankruptcy.cfm http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7494698/ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4597532 http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/18/pf/saving/willis_tips/ http://www.ftc.gov/ http://www.firstgov.gov/ www.abiworld.org http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/business/z1/04-10-05_z1_busi_1.html