Contact: John Hartgen
703-894-5935
JULY CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY FILINGS UP 9 PERCENT FROM
LAST MONTH, YEAR
August 3, 2010, Alexandria, Va.
size='3' face='Times New Roman'>— The 137,698 consumer
bankruptcies filed in July represented a 9 percent increase nationwide
over the 126,434 filings recorded in July 2009, according to the
American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), relying on data from the National
Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC). NBKRC’s data also showed that
the July consumer filings represented a 9 percent increase from the
126,270 consumer filings recorded in June 2010. Chapter 13
filings constituted 28 percent of all consumer cases in July, a slight
increase from June.
“Debt burdens, unemployment and an uncertain economic climate
continue to weigh on consumers,” said ABI Executive Director
size='3'>Samuel J.
Gerdano. “The pace of consumer filings this year
remains on track to top 1.6 million filings.”
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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
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
face='Times New Roman'>www.abiworld.org. For additional
conference information, visit
href='http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html'>
face='Times New
Roman'>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
color='#0000ff' face='Times New
Roman'>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.