I've written a number of blog entires on the requirement under BAPCPA to obtain credit counseling before a bankruptcy petition can be filed. The requirement is a joke. From yesterday's Billings Gazette:

Some observers say the early results show that credit counseling isn't working as intended. It doesn't appear to be shifting more people into debt-management plans instead of filing for bankruptcy.

Steve Bartlett, president of an industry association called the Financial Services Roundtable, supports the law but says it's flawed.

"Early on, most of the pre-bankruptcy counseling is not especially useful because it's only occurring for people right before they go into bankruptcy," Bartlett said. "The flaw is that the bankruptcy counseling is only occurring at the end of the process when you have little option. That's not what we wanted or the agencies wanted."

The bottom line is that this requirement is only an added expense and a waste of time. But without the ticket, there is no road to financial recovery.