More than ten months have passed since the majority of the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005" (BAPCPA) provisions have been in effect, and the majority of observers are saying that credit card companies have reason to celebrate. The number of bankruptcy filings is down significantly, and many individuals who legitimately need bankruptcy protection are unable to afford the increased costs associated with filing. The new filing requirements under BAPCPA have made it more time consuming and complicated to declare bankruptcy, thereby more than doubling the costs a debtor must pay in order to seek bankruptcy protection. Not that most of those in the industry are surprised. There were few, if any, bankruptcy judges, trustees or attorneys who thought BAPCPA was a good idea before it was enacted. Most bankruptcy practitioners are even more displeased now, having lived with bankruptcy reform for more than ten months. The touted "consumer protection" certainly has not materialized, and opportunistic debtors are still able to abuse the system with a little advance planning. Here are links to two newspaper articles echoing the lack of consumer protection in BAPCPA: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/steffy/4127900.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/19/AR2006081900413.html Leslie Copyright © All Rights Reserved