As I mentioned earlier this week, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling upholding the BAPCPA requirement that attorneys be considered “debt relief agencies.”
So we’re clear: I did not go to debt relief agency school. I went to law school. I’m not a member of the Boston Bar Association Debt Relief Agency Steering Committee; it’s the Bankruptcy Steering Committee. I’m not a member and author for the American Debt Relief Institute; it’s the American Bankruptcy Institute. I’m not a debt relief agent. I’m an attorney.
Now that I’ve cleared the air on that, let me share with you some of my concerns with this decision and its implications.
The plain language of the statute requires a finding that attorneys be considered debt relief agencies. The code requires that debt relief agencies identify themselves as such using particular – or substantially similar language: “We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.” That disclosure needs to be included in an advertisement directed to the general public.
While I am not thrilled at the prospect of being considered a debt relief agency, since October 17, 2005 (the effective date of BAPCPA), this site has included the required disclosure because as an attorney, I do not want to violate the law by not complying with it. The last thing I want – or my clients need – is my taking time defending myself as the “test case.”
Let’s first be fair: a “debt relief agency” is any person who provides “bankruptcy assistance” to an “assisted person” in term for payment of other valuable consideration (and it includes bankruptcy petition preparers). An “assisted person” is a person who has primarily consumer debts with unexempt assets of less than $164,250. “Bankruptcy assistance” means basically what it says. So in fairness, that’s me. And I have to have that disclosure.
Which raises an issue: who is complying with this law? And who is not? Without pointing fingers at anyone in particular: poke around Craigslist under the legal services ads and you’ll see who has the required disclosures, and who does not.
And again, let’s be fair: this designation only applies to persons/attorneys who represent debtors with consumer debts and unexempt assets, or what is defined as an “assisted person.” A business debtor may go to any law firm, and that firm need not be concerned that needs to disclosure that it is a debt relief agency, or that it is complying with any of the other requirements of a “debt relief agency.”
As you can probably guess, this raises even more issues – and I’ll be discussing those in the days ahead.
Related posts:
- The Peculiar Parallel of Debt Relief Agencies and Madonna
- “We Are A Debt Relief Agency…”
- A Headache on a Friday Afternoon
- NACBA Challenges New Bankruptcy Law
- The Morality of Seeking Debt Relief
Tags: Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act of 2005, bap, Craigslist, debt relief, Debt Relief Agencies, Exemptions, Supreme Court, Unexempt assets
