Under more stringent federal bankruptcy laws, debtors must now attend pre-bankruptcy counseling at a pre-approved debt counseling agency, which must occur even before a bankruptcy petition is filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. By requiring all debtors seeking bankruptcy relief to undergo credit counseling, the goal is to educate debtors about financial matters and prevent similar financial missteps in the future. Mandatory credit counseling also is designed to discourage filing repeated bankruptcy petitions in the future as a means of dealing with excessive debt. Furthermore, debtors must not only attend pre-bankruptcy counseling, but also must attend an additional counseling session before being granted their bankruptcy discharge of debts by the court. Legislators intend that these changes in bankruptcy laws will result in more financial education for debtors, with the hope of avoiding bankruptcy again in the future.