New Law Aids Guard and Reserve

Week of November 24, 2008

President Bush recently signed into law the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 (PL 110-438), which helps Guard and Reserve members receive bankruptcy assistance. The previous act -- The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act of 2005 -- required that filers go through a rigorous means test in order to prevent individual debt to be discharged into bankruptcy. Now, Guard and Reservists are exempt from the means test, giving them more time to get their finances back in order and file for bankruptcy protection. This new law applies to Guard or Reservists who have been on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001, and the protection is effective while the servicemember is on active duty for more than 90 days and for 540 days following activation. The full text of this new law is available on the Library of Congress' THOMAS website.

Visit the Legislative Center on Military.com for more information on issues and legislation.