A trustee in bankruptcy! That must be one of the saddest jobs in the world!

Personal Bankruptcies in the USA rose by 30% in the 12 months ended December 31, 2005.

This is the largest number of bankruptcy petitions ever filed in any 12-month period in the history of the federal courts and is attributed to the rush to beat the new tougher bankruptcy laws that went into effect on October 17, 2005.

We like the changes to the bankruptcy laws which: 1) Cancels the stay of proceeding when the trustee is discharged; 2) Prevents lenders from cancelling certain contracts when a person files bankruptcy or a proposal; 3) Requires debtors to attend counselling before a consumer proposal is completed and the remaining debt erased and 4) Raises the threshold for consumer proposals from $75,000 to $250,000.

The three major consumer credit reporting agencies announced Tuesday March 14, 2006 that they have created a new credit scoring system aimed at simplifying the loan process for both lenders and borrowers.

We like most of the new law on RRSPs because it rights an unfairness that exists in the different treatment of people who save for their retirement via RRSPs (often self-employed individuals) and those employees who save for their retirement via employer-sponsored plans.

It is recognized in Canada that, to promote a fresh financial start, the bankrupt has to maintain a degree of dignity and be allowed to keep some equity in key assets so he and his family have a starting point from which to rebuild their financial lives.

Bankruptcies rise slightly in January, 2006.