Online Credit Course Required for Bankruptcy in New Hampshire
New Hampshire residents who have found themselves in difficult financial straits may choose to file for bankruptcy protection. In many cases, a debtor may retain her home, vehicle and personal possessions while discharging or repaying the debt she has over time. As of 2005, all debtors who wish to file for bankruptcy protection must first complete a credit counseling course. Failure to complete the course will result in the bankruptcy petition being dismissed and the lifting of the automatic stay preventing collection of debts. The required course may be completed online from one of more than 40 approved agencies.
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Bankruptcy Chapters
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An individual or couple wishing to file bankruptcy in New Hampshire may file under either chapters 7, 12 or 13 of the bankruptcy code. Technically, an individual may also file under a chapter 11, but it is usually used only by partnerships or corporations. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy is known as a liquidation and is reserved for debtors without substantial assets or income. A Chapter 12 is reserved for anyone who qualifies as a family farmer of family fisherman. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also called an "individual debt adjustment" and is used by debtors with nonexempt assets they wish to retain in the bankruptcy or whose income exceeds the income allowable under the means test of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005
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In 2005, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA). The means test required to file under a Chapter 7 bankruptcy was created under the BAPCPA as well as the requirement that debtors receive credit counseling prior to filing for bankruptcy as well as financial education before the bankruptcy may be officially discharged. The purpose of the counseling requirements is to help educate consumers about financial management in the hope that they will not find themselves in the same situation again.
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Proof of Counseling
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Before a New Hampshire resident is allowed to open a bankruptcy case, he must complete an approved credit counseling course. Proof that the course has been completed must accompany the petition unless the debtor meets one of the limited exception to the counseling requirement. Exceptions to the counseling requirement include when a debtor lives in an area where the U.S. trustee has determined that the approved agencies for the area are unable to reasonably provide the counseling; when the debtor can demonstrate exigent circumstances warranting a waiver; when the debtor can demonstrate she requested the counseling from an approved agency but was unable to obtain same within the last seven days prior to filing; or when the debtor can show incapacity, disability or active military duty in a combat zone.
Online Counseling Courses
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The U.S. Trustee Program is charged with approving agencies and organizations that provide both the pre- and post-filing counseling for all bankruptcy courts. Only a course from an approved provider will qualify. The U.S. Trustee Program website has a list of providers for the New Hampshire Bankruptcy Court (see Resources). As of 2011 there were over 40 providers that offered counseling online.
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