As widely reported, Congress considered a number of significant amendments to the Bankruptcy Code in the second half of 1998, including a comprehensive bankruptcy reform bill. Although this comprehensive bill was not enacted, several significant revisions to the Bankruptcy Code were passed into law, including the following:
1. Fraudulent Conveyances & Charitable Contributions. Congress amended section 548 of the Bankruptcy Code in order to protect certain charitable contributions from being recovered by a bankruptcy trustee as fraudulent conveyances. Generally, the law exempts from avoidance, on constructive fraudulent conveyance grounds, charitable contributions made by individual debtors to qualified religious or charitable organizations if the contributions either (i) do not exceed 15% of the debtor's gross income in the year they were made or (ii) are consistent with the debtor's prior practice of charitable giving. Charitable contributions which are made with the actual intent to hinder, delay or defraud creditors are not affected by this legislation, and are still avoidable.
2. Dischargeability of Student Loans. Congress revised the rules governing the dischargeability of a debtor's student loans. Previously, student loans which first came due more than seven years before a debtor's bankruptcy filing had been dischargeable in a debtor's bankruptcy. Under the new legislation, the "age" of a student loan is not considered. Rather, student loans cannot be dischargeable in bankruptcy unless discharge is necessary to avoid imposing an undue hardship on the debtor and/or the debtor's dependents.
Note: Posted articles are for general information only and should not be considered legal advice.