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Contact: John Hartgen
703-894-5935
jhartgen@abiworld.org
APRIL CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS FALL 7 PERCENT
FROM LAST YEAR
May 3, 2011 Alexandria, Va. — April consumer
bankruptcies decreased 7 percent nationwide from April 2010, according
to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the
National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). The data showed that the
overall consumer filing total for April reached 134,720, down from the
144,490 consumer filings recorded in April 2010.
'As consumer debt levels fall and families continue to shore up their
finances, bankruptcy filings will continue to drop as well,' said ABI
Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. 'Consumer bankruptcies for 2011
will likely dip below the 1.5 million filings recorded last year.'
The April 2011 filings also represented a 7 percent decrease from the
March 2011 consumer bankruptcy total of 144,657 filings. The percentage
of chapter 13 filings for April remained virtually unchanged from March
at 26 percent.
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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization
dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency.
ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased
analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than
13,000 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 ABI, visit
href='http://www.abiworld.org/'>http://www.abiworld.org. For
additional conference information, visit
href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'>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/'>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.
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