NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – In the nearly 40 days since Hurricane Katrina struck, Gulf Coast evacuees have been looking for jobs and waiting to hear what kinds of disaster-related payments they will get to support the next chapter in their lives.

That new chapter will include plenty of old bills, many of which will start coming due between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1.

On the advice of federal regulators, banks, mortgage lenders and credit card providers have been offering a host of relief measures, including deferring payments, suspending collection and foreclosure activities, waiving late fees and other charges, and not reporting delinquencies to the credit bureaus.

But their policies are not uniform in terms of how long they will last. "It's up to the individual banks as to when they ratchet those (relief measures) down," said FDIC spokesman David Barr. "Some are starting to cut back a little."

In the meantime, the Justice Department said that the circumstances of Katrina survivors qualify as "special circumstances" under the new and more stringent bankruptcy law going into effect on Oct. 17. That judgment will make it easier for Katrina survivors who file for bankruptcy to erase their debts rather than be placed on a debt-repayment plan.

Here's a select round-up of different institutions' relief measures and what Katrina survivors will need to do when those measures expire:

Washington Mutual: The bank has offered its mortgage customers in areas devastated by Katrina an automatic 90-day suspension of mortgage payments, which will expire Dec. 1.

When payments for September, October and November come due, they will not necessarily be due in one lump-sum, said spokeswoman Nova Hunn-Barnett.

If consumer loan and mortgage loan customers contact the bank before Dec. 1, they may be able to negotiate an extension of the suspension or a partial-payment arrangement. "We'll continue to work with them," Hunn-Barnett said.

During the 90-day suspension period, reports to credit bureaus on delinquent accounts are suspended along with late fees.

Providian: The credit card provider, recently acquired by Washington Mutual, granted automatic payment deferrals of two months, as well as waivers of fees and charges, and a suspension of reporting delinquent accounts to the credit bureaus, said Robert Boxberger, executive vice president of risk operations.

When the automatic deferral period ends in early November, customers from the FEMA-declared disaster areas who still need relief from payments can call Providian and asked to be put on a reduced-interest, reduced-minimum-payment plan, Boxberger said.

After the automatic deferral period, Providian will commence reporting account activity to the credit bureaus, and will reinstate finance charges and fees. Universal default rates will also be reinstated. A universal default policy lets a bank impose a penalty rate on a customer whose account may be in good standing but who is delinquent on payments owed to another lender.

AmSouth: A spokesman was not available for comment, but the bank's Web site noted that Katrina-affected loan customers would receive up to a 60-day deferral period and its credit card customers would receive an automatic 60-day payment holiday. It also said though that "interest on accounts will continue to accrue and payments will be applied in the normal fashion."

Hibernia: Customers from the hurricane devastated areas received an automatic "skip pay" for the month of September on their Hibernia credit cards, and all fees were waived. Payment for October and beyond will be due, but customers who call in will be given a 5.99 percent interest rate and a 1 percent minimum payment for six months.

The bank's mortgage loan customers receieved an automatic three-month payment suspension on first mortgages without any credit reporting. The bank also will grant up to 18 months of temporary forbearance to repay those suspended payments, also with no credit reporting.

JP Morgan Chase: Credit card and loan customers from the federally declared disaster areas in the Gulf Coast must call the bank if they wish to have payments deferred for up to 90 days.

That bank has also suspended reporting delinquencies to the credit bureaus in the 90-day period following Hurricane Katrina.

If customers need to work out an extended relief plan, they can call before the 90 days are up and negotiate a deal with the bank.

"The hope is they will know what's going on and can say 'here's what we need to do,'" said spokesman Tom Kelly.

Chase will continue to waive foreign ATM fees for its customers and waive the fee for a non-customer to cash a Social Security check. However, it continues to charge usage fees for non-customers.

Freddie Mac: The mortgage purchaser said it would allow its mortgage servicers to suspend mortgage payments for September, October and November in FEMA-declared disaster areas for every borrower, regardless of home damage.

After that, Freddie Mac said the mortgage companies would have the discretion to continue suspending or reducing payment for an additional nine months on a case-by-case basis, but the decision must be made before the December payment comes due.

Freddie Mac also said that during the 3-month suspension period servicers should not report delinquencies to the credit bureaus and should suspend all late fees, collection and foreclosure activities.

Fannie Mae: The mortgage purchaser said it would let mortgage lenders suspend mortgage payments for up to 3 months; to reduce payments for up to 18 months; and, in severe cases, to create longer loan payback plans.

And like Freddie Mac, it told lenders to temporarily discontinue reporting delinquencies.

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For a look at some of the hard choices facing homeowners in the Gulf Coast, click here.