In April 2005, President Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. The changes made by that Act generally apply to bankruptcy cases filed on or after October 17, 2005. These were the most sweeping changes made to bankruptcy law since 1978, particularly for cases filed by individual debtors with consumer debts.

One of the most significant changes was adoption of a “means test” for an individual debtor to quality for relief under Chapter 7. Depending upon your “means” you may not be eligible to file a Chapter 7 case, but you could still choose to file for a Chapter 13 repayment plan.

Other significant recent changes include:

• A mandatory requirement that debtors receive a briefing from an approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency before filing a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.
  
  
• A mandatory requirement that debtors complete a second approved course in personal financial management before receiving a discharge.
  
  
• A restriction that you may only file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy once every eight years. Previously, a debtor could file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy once every six years.