In addition to the new credit counseling requirement for all filers and the means test for chapter 7, there are other changes in the bankruptcy laws.

You are required to do credit counseling within six months of filing your bankruptcy petition.

There are new residency requirements. Under the old bankruptcy law, the amount of equity in your house protected from creditors was set by the state where you filed. Under the new bankruptcy law, if you live in a state for less than two years and it has a better exemption than where you lived previously, you can't use the more favorable exemption. It gets more complicated.

If any of the requirements of the new law confuse you and you decide you need a bankruptcy lawyer, it's going to cost you more. If you can find an lawyer willing to take your bankruptcy case, it is going to cost you more because of the time and effort it takes the lawyer to verify your information. The president of the American Bankruptcy Institute has reported that some lawyers say they may increase their fees by 75 to 100 percent.

It is clear from the changes mentioned here that it's going to be more difficult and costlier to file bankruptcy no matter what chapter you use to file. There may eventually be some modifications in the law if it becomes evident it is causing more problems than it solves.

If you are allowed to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, there are changes in how your personal property is valued. Under the old law, you could value your personal property at basically 'garage sale' prices.

Under the new bankruptcy law, you must value your property it the price it would cost to replace it retail, taking into account its age and condition.

Also, under the old bankruptcy rules, the exempt personal property you could keep under chapter 7 was determined by the laws of the state where you lived if you resided in the state for at leas three months.

Under the new law, you must live in a state for two years before filing bankruptcy in order to use the state's exemption laws.

More people will be forced to use chapter 13 bankruptcy under the new law.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy required that you devote all your disposable income to repaying debts. That part hasn't changed, but how you calculate your disposable income has. Then, instead of subtracting your actual expenses, you use allowed expense amounts set by the IRS. The amount of 'disposable income' left may be more than what you have to spare every month. That means more chapter 13 bankruptcy plans will fail. The new law limits debt relief if you are filing after a prior case was dismissed. Even if the lawyer will not take you on as a client to file bankruptcy, they may be willing to give you legal advice.