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97 Marq. L. Rev. 391 (2013-2014)
Just Punch My Bankruptcy Ticket: A Qualitative Study of Mandatory Debtor Financial Education

handle is hein.journals/marqlr97 and id is 407 raw text is: JUST PUNCH MY BANKRUPTCY TICKET: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF MANDATORY DEBTOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION MICHAEL D. SOUSA* When Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code in 2005 through the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), it mandated that individual consumer debtors undergo two debtor education courses, one as a condition precedent to filing for bankruptcy relief, and a second for later receiving a discharge of indebtedness. As for the pre-filing credit counseling course, Congressional aim was to have prospective debtors understand the potential alternatives to filing for bankruptcy relief with the goal of having some percentage of debtors settle their debt obligations outside of the bankruptcy system. Regarding the post-filing financial management course, Congress wanted debtors who utilized the bankruptcy system to learn effective financial management techniques to employ after the closing of their bankruptcy cases. Ever since the prospect of debtor education as a formal component of the bankruptcy process was raised decades ago, bankruptcy scholars and *Assistant Professor of Law, University of Denver Sturm College of Law. There are a host of individuals who need to be thanked as part of this project and each one contributed to the project in meaningful ways. First, and foremost, I must thank all of the individuals who agreed to participate in this study and to share their stories with me about an incredibly private matter. Second, the members of the Hughes/Ruud Scholarship Committee, namely (in alphabetical order): Professors Lawrence M. Friedman, Bryant G. Garth, Stewart Macaulay, Laura Beth Nielsen, and Joyce Sterling, who reviewed this project and elected to provide funding for it through the provision of a research grant. Third, Professor Joyce Sterling, my colleague at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, for her guidance, support, and encouragement throughout the development of this article. Fourth, my anthropology professors and colleagues at the University of Denver, who provided me with wonderful guidance while exercising my anthropological skills: Peter Van Arsdale, Ph.D., Larry Conyers, Ph.D., and Dean Saitta, Ph.D. Finally, to my research assistants who offered valuable insight and reflection (in alphabetical order): Jessica Borchers, Kirstin Dvorchak, Julian Ellis, John Feeney-Coyle, Teresa Helms-Abel, Andrew Moore, Kate Puckett, and Lindsey Sowder.

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