Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
CONSUMER
BANKRUPTCY FILINGS UP NEARLY 40 PERCENT IN 2007
January 3, 2008, Alexandria,
bankruptcy filings increased nearly 40 percent nationwide in 2007 from
the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute
(
the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). The data showed that
the overall consumer filing total for the 2007 calendar year (Jan. 1
– Dec. 31, 2007) reached 801,840 compared to the 573,203 filings
recorded during the similar period in 2006.
“The roughly 40 percent
spike in consumer bankruptcies during 2007 presages even higher filings
this year, as the heavy consumer debt load is made worse by the home
mortgage crisis,” predicted
w:st='on'>ABI
Gerdano.
However, NBKRC’s data
also showed that the 66,389 consumer filings recorded in December
represented a 7.5 percent decrease from the 71,799 filings in November.
Chapter 13 filings constituted 38.32 percent of all consumer cases in
December, a slight decrease from November.
###
size='3'>ABI
nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters
related to insolvency.
was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased
analysis of bankruptcy issues. The
w:st='on'>ABI
attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround
specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for
the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on
For additional conference information, visit
title='blocked::http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'
href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'>
color='#0000ff'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.
NBKRC is an online research
center that offers subscribers access to up-to-date research and
statistics on bankruptcy filings. The database contains complete
information dating back to 1995. For more information on NBKRC, please
visit
href='http://www.nbkrc.com/'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>http://www.nbkrc.com.
*Definitions from
Bankruptcy Overview: Issues, Law and Policy, by the American
Bankruptcy Institute.
Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code is available to both
individual and business debtors. Its purpose is to achieve a fair
distribution to creditors of the debtor’s available non-exempt
property. Unsecured debts not reaffirmed are discharged, providing
a fresh financial start.
Chapter
11 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for both business
and consumer debtors. Its purpose is to rehabilitate a business as a
going concern or reorganize an individual’s finances through a
court-approved reorganization plan.
Chapter
12 of the Bankruptcy Code is designed to give special
debt relief to a family farmer with regular income from
farming.
Chapter
13 of the Bankruptcy Code is available for an individual
with regular income whose debts do not exceed specific amounts; it is
typically used to budget some of the debtor’s future earnings
under a plan through which unsecured creditors are paid in whole or in
part.