Bankruptcy Codes And You

Even though most people don't consider themselves at a financial risk for bankruptcy, the sad statistics are that today more and more people are heading that direction. In fact, the various forms of bankruptcy such as chapter 7, chapter 13, and even chapter 11 are becoming a more popular financial out for people and businesses each and every day.

The U.S. bankruptcy laws were put in place by Congress in order to provide uniformity to the code and statutes throughout the United States. The bankruptcy laws were actually put in place to protect people from doing further financial harm.

Currently there are four different sections or chapters to the bankruptcy statutes. For instance, you'll probably recognize such bankruptcy terminology as chapter 11... which is the section of bankruptcy code that can be found in chapter 11 of the statute.

Each of the various bankruptcy chapters have their own unique set of rules, regulations, and statutes as they pertain to the filing procedures, how the debt is ultimately relieved, and how the creditors are affected and what their rights are in the procedure or chapter.

Although the bankruptcy codes were provided for by the U.S. federal government, each state has the right to pass other laws that will work within the framework of the federal statutes on bankruptcy; otherwise the states don't have autonomous power to govern how the overall bankruptcy code functions.

Even though the individual states can't alter the basic intent of the federal bankruptcy laws, the do have the right to interpret how the claims should be filed and how they are acted upon by the individual states themselves.

Just like most any statute, the bankruptcy codes are dynamic and subject to change. This is why it is imperative that an individual seeks the counsel of a professional bankruptcy attorney.

If there is a change to the core bankruptcy laws of the country, it will come from the congress of the United States. For instance, one such change that effected the rules for the filing of chapter 7 bankruptcy. The change to this particular section of the bankruptcy code adds some burden of proof on the part of the filer that they do indeed have met the criteria for the right to file such bankruptcy.

With this change, the person seeking relief from the bankruptcy courts will only be approved for filing once they have completed a court approved financial and bankruptcy session. With the ever growing number of people seeking relief from debt via the bankruptcy system, this amendment was added to help ensure that the person filing was truly in a financial dead end and not someone who had just incurred a great deal of debt with no intention of paying it off.