Executive Office for U.S. Trustees to Address Credit Counseling Conference about Bankruptcy Reform



Mark Neal, Assistant U.S. Trustee in the Executive Office for United States Trustees (EOUST), will be a featured speaker at the American Association of Debt Management Organizations' (AADMO) Fall Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 9, 2005.

The EOUST is responsible for the approval of credit counseling agencies providing pre-filing counseling and debtor education programs that must be completed by bankruptcy filers before they may receive a discharge from the court. The requirements are all part of the new bankruptcy reform legislation 8211; "The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA)" 8211; that went into effect on October 17th.

Mr. Neal will discuss the status of applications and approvals, the details of the applications and the application process and the relationship to state laws. He will be available to discuss surety bond amount offsets and credits, employee bonds/fidelity insurance amount offsets and credits, counseling session content and duration, certificate security and form, fee levels, what constitutes "ability to pay," reporting, notifications and audits.

"This is an important program for all credit counseling agencies to attend," said Mark Guimond, Executive Director of the American Association of Debt Management Organizations (AADMO), the trade association for the credit counseling industry. "The applications and approval processes are complex, call for compliance with a significant number of requirements and carry substantial disclosure obligations. Information provided in applications may be subject to public review and can carry penalties for false information. Not knowing the requirements of the law and the procedures for approval may delay or cause the rejection of a credit counseling agency's application," added Guimond.

The AADMO Fall Conference will also feature two panels of state regulators, experts on bankruptcy reform, experts on credit counseling law and sessions on the future of tax-exempt credit counseling.

ABOUT AADMO
AADMO is the credit counseling and debt management industry's largest trade association. It is an industry education and advocacy organization whose mission is to promote and ensure the continued operation and viability of credit counseling and debt management organizations. AADMO provides its members and the consumer public with information about the credit and debt counseling industry. AADMO members are consumer credit counseling agencies, debt management organizations, credit counselors, personal finance educators, credit and debt information educators, consumer lawyers and many others.

AADMO is the only trade association to have held state law compliance workshops with the New York State Banking Department and the California Department of Corporations upon enactment of their respective laws governing credit counseling and AADMO is the only trade association for the industry to publish a formal summary of state laws that has been reviewed by state regulators.





Executive Office for U.S. Trustees to Address Credit Counseling Conference about Bankruptcy Reform