Whether the debtors attorney is not a Debt Relief Agency?

IS A DEBTOR 'S ATTORNEY A DEBT RELIEF AGENCY

Is a debtor 's attorney a debt relief agency ? A closer look at the law defining what a debt relief agency might provide an answer

The question might seem rhetorical to a layman but has far-reaching implications for a practicing attorney . For instance , lawyers practicing bankruptcy law may be required to identify themselves as debt relief agencies pursuant to the provisions of the BAPCPA (Lasky , 2006

Section 101 (12 (A ) of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ( the BAPCPA

) defines a debt relief agency as any person who provides any bankruptcy assistance to an assisted person in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration , or who is a bankruptcy petition preparer under section 110

At first glance , it would appear that attorneys are considered debt relief agencies for the simple reason that they provide bankruptcy assistance particularly in the preparation of the bankruptcy petition and therefore , one could argue that since the law does not make a specific distinction between lawyers and other debt relief agencies then they must be covered by the definition

It must be noted , however , that the role of an attorney goes beyond the preparation of the bankruptcy petition . Attorneys also provide other valuable advice to a debtor on other options available to them

The case of Milovetz v . United States (2006 ) decided by the District Court of Minnesota seem to offer some resolution to this question . In this case...