Law: In Search of Life After Debt

New bankruptcy law helps debtors survive financial woes

James and Lynda Hobson, a Salt Lake City couple in their early thirties, owed creditors more than $18,000 in secured and unsecured debts* when they appeared in court last month—a considerable burden for a family with an annual income of only $15,000 and a fourth child on the way. An $8,000 loss on a house they had built—and then had to sell before ever moving in—was one reason they were in trouble; another was the $1,200 that they had accumulated in medical bills. Hard pressed for cash, the couple had begun to rely heavily...