History of Bankruptcy

The first bankruptcy laws in the United States were made because of negative economic conditions. They began in 1800 and were repealed in 1803. The modern bankruptcy laws first came into view in 1898, when the Bankruptcy Act gave companies that were in distress a way of paying back their creditors and being protected from losing everything at once.

From World War II through the 1970s, the idea of bankruptcy did not make major headlines. There weren’t very many businesses that failed. Even through the 1970s, there were really only two major companies that ended up filing for bankruptcy.

In 1978, there was an act passed called the Bankruptcy Reform Act. It took effect October 1st, 1979. This completely revamped the practices regarding bankruptcy. Chapter 11 was created, which is meant to reorganize businesses and get everyone back to working order after bankruptcy.

Also, during the 1980s, there were many changes that were made to the different bankruptcy chapters and acts. These covered tax related issues, and rules to protect companies from losing everything as a result of bankruptcy depending on their states at the time of filing and their abilities to pay back the debts on their own.

During the 1980s and early in the 1990s, there were a record number of bankruptcies of all different types. This could be attributed to the fact that the process was made much more simple, and that the benefits were starting to really look good to the people who were filing. The changes in the filing systems, and the large numbers of bankruptcies led to changes that had to be made in the court systems so that everything could be handled. This made the process much easier overall, and allowed for more people to be able to be protected through filing for bankruptcy.

Now, bankruptcies are even easier to file because there are pre arranged and prepackaged bankruptcies, and forms that are created with everyone in mind. This way, the courts can handle all of the bankruptcy proceedings, and everything is able to move much more smoothly.

Even though bankruptcy is now easier than ever to file, you should always keep in mind that this is something that is going to have a major impact on your credit. You should not file for bankruptcy unless you feel that it is your last chance and unless you feel that you have no other option. Otherwise you might find that it is something that is harder on your credit than you could have ever imagined.

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