Bankruptcy filings are on the rise – that’s according to the American Bankruptcy Institute which pulled data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center. This past February, 111,693 consumer bankruptcies were filed, which represents a 14% increase over the 98,344 consumer bankruptcy filings in February of 2009.
The number of consumer bankruptcies filed in February was also 9% higher than the 102,254 filings in January 2010.
The director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, Samuel Gerdano, believes that the number of bankruptcies filed in 2010 could ultimately exceed 1.5 million.
Last year, there were more than 1.4 million bankruptcy filings, including both consumer and business bankruptcies. That represented a 31.9% increase over the previous year, according to a report released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC).
Of those bankruptcies, says the AOUSC, the majority were filed by consumers rather than businesses. Overall, consumer bankruptcies in 2009 increased 32% from the 1.07 million filed in 2008.
While business bankruptcies may have totaled fewer than consumer bankruptcy filings, the overall increase was higher, with 60,837 filings equating to a 40% increase over 2008.
If you are considering filing for bankruptcy in Texas, seek the advice of a qualified bankruptcy attorney today.