Debtors\u27 Name or Identity Changes: Distributing Benefits and Burdens under Article 9

Under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, the filing of a financing statement is often a prerequisite to a secured creditor obtaining a perfected security interest in a debtor\u27s property. This Note explores the problem associated with the debtor\u27s change of name or identity after the secured creditor has filed the financing statement under the original name or designation of the debtor. After discussing the uncertainty and confusion caused by the decisional law under the 1962 Code, the Note presents subsection 9-402(7) of the 1972 version of Article 9 as a reasonable and timely cure to problems caused by the debtor\u27s name or identity change. The Note concludes by criticizing recent interpretations of subsection 9-402(7), and presents a new construction of the subsection which will better allow courts to effectuate the purposes for which subsection 9-402(7) was intended