Chapter 13 is a cornerstone of the bankruptcy system. Its legal requirements strike a balance between the rehabilitation of debtors through keeping assets and reducing debt, and the repayment of creditors over a period of years. Despite the accolades from policymakers, the hard truth is that the...

The social safety net for older Americans has been shrinking for the past couple decades. The risks associated with aging, reduced income, and increased healthcare costs, have been off-loaded onto older individuals. At the same time, older Americans are increasingly likely to file consumer...

The time before a person files bankruptcy is sometimes called the financial “sweatbox.” Using original data from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, we find that people are living longer in the sweatbox before filing bankruptcy than they have in the past. We also describe the depletion of...

Just three years ago, Congress enacted controversial amendments to the Bankruptcy Code. The proponents claimed that the changes would drive the quot;can payquot; debtors (of which there were supposedly many) from the bankruptcy courts with tough new income-based eligibility requirements. And...

Legal scholars fret that another publication will preempt their articles by examining the same topic. In Volume 89:2 of the American Bankruptcy Law Journal, two studies tackle the issue of repeat filers of bankruptcy. Professor Laura Bartell has published Stay Imposed –The Failed Policy of...

This article examines the home affordability of chapter 13 bankruptcy debtors under current law, which prohibits the cram down or modification of residential mortgage loans. Using original empirical data from a national study of over 1700 chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, it analyzes the relationship...

In the consumer protection context, most research on American families assesses the extent of harm from overindebtedness along a single dimension: debt, or its kissing cousin, wealth. This essay examines the limitation of this analytical approach and argues that unmanageable debt may harm...

The law requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to collect, monitor, and respond to consumer complaints regarding consumer financial products or services. This Article explores these duties. Its premise is that the CFPB's complaint mechanism, even if carefully designed and...