A Tampa Bankruptcy Attorney is Considered a Debt Relief Agency in Supreme Court Ruling
As any Tampa bankruptcy attorney will tell you, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Customer Protection Act, or BAPCA, is a law passed in 2005 that made changes to the US bankruptcy code. One of the changes in this legislation applied to "debt relief agencies," prohibiting them from advising a debtor to incur more debt while deciding whether they should file for bankruptcy. However, the question soon arose – are bankruptcy attorneys considered debt relief agencies?
Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that yes – your Tampa bankruptcy attorney is considered a debt relief agency under BAPCA regulations and is therefore not allowed to encourage a debtor to pile on more debt before filing for bankruptcy. The Court majority opinion found that BAPCA clearly intended for attorneys to be included in the grouping of debt relief agencies, and that forcing them to abide by the same rules served to further prevent consumer deception – the reason behind this portion of the law to begin with.
What does this mean for you as a struggling debtor? It means that you can rest assured that your Tampa bankruptcy attorney can no longer advise you to make financial choices – such as accumulating more debt prior to a bankruptcy - that might not have your best interest at heart. If you are looking for an experience bankruptcy attorney in Tampa that can offer you compassionate, informative legal help if you are overwhelmed and considering bankruptcy, contact Yesner & Boss, P.L. today to set up a free consultation.
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