Contact: John Hartgen
703-894-5935
BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE SLIGHTLY FROM PREVIOUS MONTH
November 2, 2010, Alexandria, Va.— U.S.
consumer bankruptcy filings totaled 132,173 nationwide during October, a
1.4 percent increase over the 130,329 total consumer filings recorded in
September, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying
on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). While the
October consumer filings represented an increase from the previous
month, they represented a 2.75 percent decrease from the October 2009
total of 135,913. Chapter 13 filings constituted 29.7 percent of all
consumer cases in October, a slight decrease from September.
“As the issues of unemployment and economic stress weigh heavily
on today’s elections, consumers continue to seek the financial
shelter of bankruptcy,” said ABI Executive DirectorSamuel J.
Gerdano. “We anticipate that there will be nearly 1.6 million
consumer bankruptcy filings by year end.”
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
12,600 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
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face='Arial'>www.abiworld.org. For additional conference
information, visit
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href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html' target='_blank'>
face='Arial'>http://www.abiworld.org/
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
target='_blank'>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.
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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.
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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.