Chapter 12 is designed for "family farmers" or "family fishermen" with "regular annual income." It enables financially distressed family farmers and fishermen to propose and carry out a plan to repay all or part of their debts. The purpose of the "regular annual income" requirement is to ensure that the debtor's annual income is sufficiently stable and regular to permit the debtor to make payments under a Chapter 12 plan. But Chapter 12 makes allowance for situations in which family farmers or fishermen have income that is seasonal in nature.

Relief under Chapter 12 is voluntary, and only the debtor may file a petition under the chapter.

In tailoring bankruptcy law to meet the economic realities of family farming and the family fisherman, Chapter 12 eliminates many of the barriers such debtors would face if seeking to reorganize under either Chapter 11 or 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. For example, Chapter 12 is more streamlined, less complicated, and less expensive than Chapter 11, which is better suited to large corporate reorganizations. In addition, few family farmers or fishermen find Chapter 13 to be advantageous because it is designed for wage earners who have smaller debts than those facing family farmers.

(Reviewed 11.9.08)