The Law Offices of Ken McCartney P.C.

        The Bankruptcy Abuse and Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, 

Senate Amended Act 256, was signed into law by President George W. Bush 

on April 20, 2005. Portions of the law will become effective later. Most of the 

Act affects filings that occur 180 days after April 20, 2005, or on October 17, 2005.

          A person desiring to gain bankruptcy protection is defined as "an assisted

 person."  A law firm agreeing to represent assisted persons is defined as 

 a "debt relief agency."  A debt relief agency must provide an assisted person 

a clear and conspicuous written notice advising assisted persons that

(A) all information that the assisted person is required

 to provide with a petition and thereafter during a case

 under this title is required to be complete, accurate,

 and truthful;

 

(B) all assets and all liabilities are required to be

 completely and accurately disclosed in the

 documents filed to commence the case, and the 

replacement value of each asset as defined in section

 506 must be stated in those documents where 

requested after reasonable inquiry to establish such value;

 

(C) current monthly income, the amounts specified

 in section 707(b) (2), and , in a case under Chapter 13

 of this title, and disposable income (determined in 

accordance with section 707 (b) (2) ), are required to 

be stated after reasonable inquiry; and

 

(D) information that an assisted person provides during

 their case may be audited pursuant to this title, and that

 failure to provide such information may result in dismissal 

for the case under this title or other sanction, including

 criminal sanctions.

 

A debt relief agency must provide the following notice to assisted persons:

If you decide to seek bankruptcy relief, you can represent yourself, you can hire 

an attorney to represent you, or you can get help in some localities from a 

bankruptcy petition preparer who is not an attorney. THE LAW REQUIRES 

AN ATTORNEY OR BANKRUPTCY PREPARER TO GIVE YOU A WRITTEN

 CONTRACT SPECIFYING WHAT THE ATTORNEY OR BANKRUPTCY 

PETITION PREPARER WILL DO FOR YOU AND HOW MUCH IT WILL COST

. Ask to see the contract before you hire anyone.

The following information helps you understand what must be done in a routine 

bankruptcy case to help you evaluate how much service you need. Although

 bankruptcy can be complex, many cases are routine. Before filing a bankruptcy 

case, either you or your attorney should analyze your eligibility for different forms

 of debt relief available under the bankruptcy code and which form of relief is

 most likely to be beneficial for you. Be sure you understand the relief you can

 obtain and its limitations. To file a bankruptcy case, documents called a Petition,

 Schedules and Statement of Financial Affairs, as well as in some cases a

 Statement of Intention need to be prepared correctly and filed with the bankruptcy

 court. Once your case starts, you will have to attend the required first meeting 

of creditors where you may be questioned by a court official called a A trustee

and by creditors.

If you choose to file a Chapter 7 case, you may be asked to reaffirm a debt. 

You may want help deciding whether to do so. A creditor is not permitted to 

coerce you into reaffirming your debts.

If you choose to file a Chapter 13 case in which you repay your creditors what

 you can afford over 3 to 5 years, you may also want help with preparing your 

Chapter 13 Plan and with the Confirmation Hearing on your Plan which will be

 before a bankruptcy judge.

If you select another type of relief under the Bankruptcy Code other than

 Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, you will want to find out what should be done from 

someone familiar with that type of relief.

Received by

________________________

client

________________________

client

Counsel must have a signed copy of this disclosure for your file.

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