England and Wales Bankruptcy Filings Hit The Web
Faster-Granted Bankruptcy Stay Could Cross the Pond
There is no shortage of differences between English and American culture. The gap continues to widen regarding both country’s handling of bankruptcy. England and Wales’ Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) is now cutting down the time it takes to file for bankruptcy by making filings available online.
Online bankruptcy would only impact the initial filing, making the process exclusively simpler for consumers alone. Subsequent creditor disputes still have the potential to be drawn out in the traditional bankruptcy court cases. Additionally, creditors will not be given the equal playing field of filing against the bankruptcy online, which could potentially devastate hurting debtors.
Britain’s move to put bankruptcy filing online has the potential to revolutionize the industry. Faster bankruptcy filings mean more full-time working debtors can be granted an automatic stay. Online bankruptcy filing of course does not guarantee a successful exiting of bankruptcy, as debtors’ cases would still be tried and heavily scrutinized by the British court systems’ bankruptcy “deciders”, the equivalent of a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge/trustee.
The U.S. is still a far stretch from a consumer-accessible bankruptcy process. In 2005, the U.S. famously impeded the path of the bankruptcy process with the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention (BAPCPA) laws. Prior to an initial filing, an individual in the U.S. must complete a credit counseling session and fill out a means test to determine whether they qualify for the preferred Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Regardless of these bankruptcy hurdles, the recession has caused the amount of U.S. bankruptcies to climb to its highest in four years, or their pre-BAPCPA level.
The implementation of online bankruptcy is still pending approval by February 2010. If Britain’s small-scale experiment succeeds, the U.S. might just take a cue from their innovation. While you may not be able to complete an online bankruptcy filing in the U.S., you can still acquire top-notch legal help through the online resources at Legal Helpers. Our initial consultation is always free—call us toll-free at 1-800-260-1402.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
