The Oklahoma Bankruptcy Lawyers at Atkins & Markoff Alert Public to Results of Fed Bank Paper Concluding Millions of Americans Have Not Filed Bankruptcy Who Should Have

(PRWEB) June 14, 2012

The Oklahoma bankruptcy attorneys at Atkins & Markoff, a law firm dedicated to providing help to consumers and businesses who are experiencing financial trouble, hereby alert the public to the results of a paper that was recently completed by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that concluded that millions of Americans who would have filed for bankruptcy protection prior to the bankruptcy reform law that was passed in 2005 have not done so because of the additional steps required and expense associated with such a step. The paper was written by Donald P. Morgan, and it was entitled, "Is the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform Working?" It was released on June 4, 2012.

Specifically, the Federal Reserve Bank member analyzed the statistics regarding the number of bankruptcy cases filed between the years of 2009 and 2011 and projected the number of bankruptcy cases that would have been filed during that timeframe if the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act that was passed in 2005 did not exist. The paper concluded that millions of American consumers would have filed for bankruptcy but for the existence of this law.

Between the years of 2009 and 2011, a total of more than 4.3 million bankruptcy cases were filed across the United States. However, the bank members formulating the paper applied similar conditions to those which existed before the passing of this law and projected that a total of more than 25 million bankruptcy cases would have been filed. The rate of bankruptcy cases filed during those years was 2 out of every 1,000 American households. The paper concluded that the rate would have been 12 out of every 1,000 American households.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 added additional requirements and costs for those who wanted to file for bankruptcy protection. These requirements include obtaining credit counseling from an approved provider and paying the costs associated with obtaining that counseling. The Oklahoma bankruptcy lawyers at Atkins & Markoff urge those who may be struggling with their finances to have a professional review their situations.

About Atkins & Markoff

The Oklahoma bankruptcy lawyers at Atkins & Markoff, whose law firm Web site URL can be found at http://www.OklahomaBankruptcyLawCenter.com, is a law firm comprised of Oklahoma bankruptcy attorneys who have been representing consumers since 1999 in bankruptcy-related legal matters that include Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases as well as debt consolidation and credit counseling matters. The firm represents consumers in bankruptcy cases throughout the state of Oklahoma.

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