Bankruptcy Debt Filing Personal

by admin, December 21st, 2006 | No Comments

If you think that our bankruptcy laws are tough, be thankful you aren’t living in ancient Rome. The Roman law of the Twelve Tables (which dates back to the fifth century B.C.) provided that if a “debtor be insolvent to serve creditors,” his body should “be cut in pieces on the third market day.” Or, if his debtors were feeling merciful, he could “be sold to foreigners beyond the Tiber.”

Well, while our bankruptcy laws are infinitely more humane, they can still produce unwarranted results.

Earlier this year, a New York couple filed for bankruptcy. Under the 2005 bankruptcy “reforms” so-called, people at this couple’s income level are required to come up with a court-approved plan to partly repay their creditors. As part of the requirement, the couple listed their monthly expenses to determine how much they could afford to pay their creditors.

Among the expenses listed was $100 a month the couple tithed to their church. When the bankruptcy trustee objected that this wasn’t the kind of “reasonably necessary” expense the most recent “reforms” intended, the issue went before a federal bankruptcy judge.

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