For debtor or worse: discharge of marital debt obligations under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

摘要

Part I examines the intersection between divorce and bankruptcy in contemporary American society, providing an overview of divorce demographics and an introduction to the bankruptcy process. Part II offers a pre- and post-Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) comparison of the Bankruptcy Code sections governing divorce obligations and discharge under the Bankruptcy Code. Part III reviews how courts in the future are likely to do so under the BAPCPA revisions. Part IV joins together existing rules and approaches to the new BAPCPA language to determine how courts will apply the BAPCPA marital discharge provisions to future cases. Part V concludes with an analysis of the strengths and weakness of the divergent rules, problems that are likely to occur in the future under BAPCPA provisions, and comments on how courts can best deal with these hurdles.