Proposed laws provide that lawyers pay trustee fees when they misjudge whether to file under Chapter 7. Bankruptcy experts forecast much litigation over whether Chapter 7 cases are abusive. These disputes will take time and run up attorney fees. Some people think lenders will litigate the abuse issue in almost every case. Credit-card issuers get upset when a cardholder goes on a spending spree, runs up big balances on all cards and then declares bankruptcy.
Present law sticks creditors unless they can show fraud.
Often, they try to show fraud by proving that the debtor submitted a false financial statement or lied about income. Proving facts along these lines is usually time-consuming and costly. Congress is thinking about enacting a presumption that all consumer debt incurred within 90 days before filing bankruptcy will be presumed non-dischargeable. The debtor must pay these bills, unless he or she can rebut the presumption. This also will be time consuming and costly.