New Law

CONGRESS PASSES NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW

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Key Features of Bankruptcy Legislation

Sets  a new means test for measuring a debtor's ability to repay.

Require people filing for bankruptcy to pay for credit counseling.

Give top priority to a spouse's claims for child support among creditors' claims on a debtor in bankruptcy.

Allow for special accommodations for active-duty service members, low-income veterans and those with serious medical conditions in the new income test for bankruptcy applicants.

Restrict a state's homestead exemption to $125,000 if the person in bankruptcy bought his or her residence less than three years and four months before filing.

Give Wall Street investment firms the right to work for a company both before and after it files for bankruptcy, a provision opposed by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson.