Posted on November 15, 2010 by Bryan Fears

Bankruptcy Misery Loves Company

New data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reveals that American consumers filed more than 1.5 million non-business bankruptcies during the federal government's fiscal year ending September 30.  That is 14% higher than fiscal year 2009, when around 1.3 million consumer bankruptcies were filed.

 

“As the issues of unemployment and economic stress weigh heavily on today’s elections, consumers continue to seek the financial shelter of bankruptcy,” said American Bankruptcy Institute Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. “We anticipate that there will be nearly 1.6 million consumer bankruptcy filings by year end.”  The American Bankruptcy Institute is the nation's largest association of bankruptcy professionals.

 

At this current pace, the number of consumer bankruptcies for 2010 would be the highest number in the past five years.  In 2005 Americans filed over two million bankruptcies cases, 630,000 of these were filed in the two week period before bankruptcy law revisions made it more difficult discharge debt.

 

Gerdano expects the number of bankruptcies to continue rising in the months ahead as unemployment stays near 10% and access to credit remains tight.  Personal bankruptcy filings have been climbing steadily since the recession began in 2007 which left millions of Americans unemployed or underemployed.  During the federal fiscal year 2010, Chapter 7 filings increased nearly 15% to over 1.1 million, from 989,227 in fiscal 2009.  Chapter 13 filings rose 9.2% during the year, while Chapter 11 filings fell 3.8%.

 

If you are struggling with debt and considering bankruptcy, you are not alone.  Bankruptcy is a legal process protected by federal law, guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and overseen by a federal judge and agents of the United States Justice Department.  Bankruptcy is the right way to legally resolve a debt problem that you cannot pay.  If you need legal protection from your creditors, contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney and discuss your options.

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Posted on July 31, 2009 by Bryan Fears

Consumer Bankruptcy Filings on the Rise

Consumers filed 675,351 bankruptcy filings in the first half of 2009, an increase of 36.5
percent from a year ago according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI). Samuel J.
Gerdano, Executive Director of the ABI, expects new bankruptcy filings during 2009 to
exceed 1.4 million. That would be a substantial increase over the 1.06 million in 2008 and
801,840 during 2007.
 
“As unemployment, foreclosures rates and health care costs continue to rise, more
consumers are turning to bankruptcy as a last financial resort,” Gerdano stated in a news
release. Other bankruptcy experts agree with Gerdano’s assessment. In a story published
by the Washington Post in 2008, Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren said, "The rise in
bankruptcies is not about something that happened last week or last month. It's about the
fundamentals. It's about declining wages, rising costs, inadequate health insurance, job
instability. More hardworking middle-class families simply can't make it in this economy,
and it's only getting worse."
 
When you are at the end of your rope, bankruptcy is a safety net. The federal bankruptcy
law provides powerful tools to forge a fresh start and a new financial future for your
family. Bankruptcy can protect the things that matter most to you like your home, auto,
and retirement accounts, while restructuring or eliminating your debt. No one wants to file
a bankruptcy, but if you are faced with serious financial difficulties, your best course of
action is to explore your financial options. A qualified bankruptcy attorney can explain
your options and help you decide the best choice for your family.

 

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