Do you have enough money to pay your way through bankruptcy?
Guess what’s the latest on the bankruptcy front: Congress thinks you are not paying enough and now wants to increase the fees for filing bankruptcy. One more fee hike will only block many people, who have suffered genuine financial misfortune, from filing bankruptcy. Our legislators want to raise the fee for filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy by $40, to $439. I’m sure most of you are now wondering what these guys want to do with this extra money. Believe it or not, they want to better compensate Chapter 7 trustees, who are appointed by the court to investigate the filers’ assets, meet with and pay creditors, and oversee bankruptcy sales.
So probably, these trustees are underpaid for the kind of work they have to do. But does that mean you have the freedom to loot money from people who already don’t have enough of it? I mean most people wouldn’t grudge the trustees earning a little more but does this extra burden have to be shouldered by the poor debtor — a person who is already in a financial mess and needs all the help s/he can get to get out and move on.