Oklahoma bankruptcy attorneys very busy this week

Soon, Oklahomans will have more hoops to jump through when it comes to filing for bankruptcy. <br/><br/>New rules will make it harder for some and impossible for others to wipe debt away. The deadline

Tuesday, October 11th 2005, 10:23 am

By: News On 6

Soon, Oklahomans will have more hoops to jump through when it comes to filing for bankruptcy.

New rules will make it harder for some and impossible for others to wipe debt away. The deadline for filing under the old rules is just six days away.

News on 6 anchor Scott Thompson says Tulsa bankruptcy attorneys say just a small group of lawyers handles the majority of local bankruptcy cases. And that group is being swamped with clients wanting to file for bankruptcy before tougher laws take effect on Monday.

The new laws are meant to keep people who can afford to pay down their debt from wiping it clean through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Still, many are worried that the new laws won't punish chronic shoppers, but people who have simply fallen on hard times.

Attorney Brian Huckabee saw the surge to beat the deadline begin three weeks ago. He says in this last week, he can't take any new clients and doesn't know who to refer them to, because most every other bankruptcy attorney is just as busy as he is. "Maybe 10 days ago, there just weren't any appointment times left available, so we're just having to be as nice and sympathetic as possible, but tell them there's no way to start their case."

Overall, the state has seen almost a 20 percent spike in new bankruptcy filings.