Bankruptcy Law Research: Statutes

Understanding Bankruptcy Reform 2005: What Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys Need to Know About the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention & Consumer Protection Act 2005 - 10th Floor KF1524 L54 2005

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005: Law and Explanation - 10th Floor - KF1501.A7 W45 2005

Title 11 of the United States Code is also known as the Bankruptcy Code.  The Bankruptcy Code is divided into the following chapters:

• CHAPTER 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 101–112)
• CHAPTER 3—CASE ADMINISTRATION (§§ 301–366)
• CHAPTER 5—CREDITORS, THE DEBTOR, AND THE ESTATE (§§ 501–562)
• CHAPTER 7—LIQUIDATION (§§ 701–784)
• CHAPTER 9—ADJUSTMENT OF DEBTS OF A MUNICIPALITY (§§ 901–946)
• CHAPTER 11—REORGANIZATION (§§ 1101–1174)
• CHAPTER 12—ADJUSTMENT OF DEBTS OF A FAMILY FARMER OR FISHERMAN WITH REGULAR ANNUAL INCOME (§§ 1201–1231)
• CHAPTER 13—ADJUSTMENT OF DEBTS OF AN INDIVIDUAL WITH REGULAR INCOME (§§ 1301–1330)
• CHAPTER 15—ANCILLARY AND OTHER CROSS-BORDER CASES (§§ 1501–1532)

Law Library Print Materials

• Bankruptcy Code, Rules, and Forms - 10th Floor KF1511.596 .A2
• The Portable Bankruptcy Code & Rules - 10th Floor  KF1511.596 .A2

Annotated versions of the U.S. Code are useful for researchers because they provide a brief legislative history and citations to cases and other secondary sources that interpret the code sections. 

• U.S. Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.) available via Westlaw
• Print versions of the U.S.C.A. are available - 9th Floor KF62 1970 .W47 

The text of the code, as well as section-by-section analysis, are included in the major bankruptcy treatises.

• Collier on Bankruptcy (Lexis) - 10th Floor KF1524 .C69 2009
• Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice (Westlaw) - 10th Floor KF1524 .N67 2008

Federal law primarily governs bankruptcy law, but some states, including Illinois, have adopted "opt-out" legislation that requires debtors to use state exemption statutes rather than the exemptions provided in the Bankruptcy Code.

The Illinois exemptions can primarily be found at 735 ILCS 5/12-1001, but other exemptions are found throughout the bankruptcy provisions of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.   The Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated are located on the 9th floor of the library and are available via Lexis and Westlaw.  A free version of the ILCS is provided by the IL General Assembly at ILGA.gov.

For an overview of state exemption laws and citations to other states' exemption statutes, see Collier on Bankruptcy.