Chapter 13 does not have presumption of abuse. I think attorneys will get nailed only if someone lies about something and he does not catch it first. If for instance at the 341 meeting the debtor says something completely different than what was on the schedules. If it has a "material effect" then the BK attorney could face some liability. By "material effect" I mean that if it would change the outcome of the case ie: the debtor appeared to be ok in chap 7 but then something came out that would swing his case to a chap 13 instead.
Has anyone really considered what BAPCPA really means. First, the actual definition is "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act."
Well, the first part is ok, lets prevent "over abuse" of the system. One often wonders how the consumer is being protected. What I think this means is that for years BK attorneys have been taking MANY short cuts just to make the quick money and get the client thru the system. I actually think ths "Act" protects the debtor from his own attorney. I read somewhere that some BK judge made a big deal about just throwing info on the schedules just to get them filed. The judge's comment was that he considered these BK schedules to be "the bible" and they should not be tampered with. In this particular case the judge sanctioned the BK attorney. I don't know all the details but I thought it was an interesting case.
Rick D
Has anyone really considered what BAPCPA really means. First, the actual definition is "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act."
Well, the first part is ok, lets prevent "over abuse" of the system. One often wonders how the consumer is being protected. What I think this means is that for years BK attorneys have been taking MANY short cuts just to make the quick money and get the client thru the system. I actually think ths "Act" protects the debtor from his own attorney. I read somewhere that some BK judge made a big deal about just throwing info on the schedules just to get them filed. The judge's comment was that he considered these BK schedules to be "the bible" and they should not be tampered with. In this particular case the judge sanctioned the BK attorney. I don't know all the details but I thought it was an interesting case.
Rick D
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