Contact: John Hartgen
703-739-0800
jhartgen@abiworld.org
JUNE CONSUMER
BANKRUPTCY FILINGS INCREASE
size='3'>NEARLY 37 PERCENT OVER PREVIOUS YEAR
July 9, 2007, Alexandria,
w:st='on'>
w:st='on'>U.S.
filings increased 37.1 percent nationwide in June from the previous
year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (
w:st='on'>ABI
Bankruptcy Research Center (NBKRC), overall consumer filings totaled
68,559 in June, nearly a 2 percent decrease from the 69,684 filings in
May. Chapter 13 filings constituted 38.3 percent of all consumer cases
in June, a slight increase over the previous three
months.
'While bankruptcy filings are
up more than 30 percent from the same period last year, they are less
than half of what they were in 2005,' said Samuel J. Gerdano,
'However, the underlying concerns of high debt loads are still a
constant, pointing to rising filings in the future.'
###
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 11,500 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 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/'>
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.