The preliminary draft of the Family Insolvency Law for Latin America and the Caribbean will be studied from January by consumer associations and representatives from the commercial, banking and finance sector in Panama.

Giovani Fletcher, president of the Panamanian Institute of Law, Consumers and Users (Ipadecu), notes in an article in Prensa.com, the goal is "to create a tool that very quickly and effectively can rehabilitate the credit status of those who for various reasons have fallen into financial distress and are not subject to credit, affecting their family. "

The Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of Consumers International (CI) is the leading international body driving this project. They have carried out research into consumer credit, contracts and advertising in banks in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, noting that none of the countries had a law to regulate situations of consumer over-indebtedness, as exists in many other nations.

Basically, what is proposed is a court procedure to reach an agreement with creditors to be held within the scope of a law enforcement agency. The person invoking the benefit of the law must demonstrate that they have fallen into excessive debt for reasons such as job loss, unemployment, temporary or permanent disability, or serious or chronic disease involving excessive spending on treatments and medications, among other reasons.

A similar proposal was presented last week before the Senate of Chile.

Source: Prensa.com

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