Although news outlets across the country continue to report the dramatic decline in bankruptcy petitions, filings are indeed on the rise across the country. When looking solely at first quarter 2006 versus first quarter 2005, there has in fact been a significant decline. However, on a month-by-month basis filings are climbing steadily.
Concentrated data from one North Carolina country demonstrates that filings are climbing to their pre-BAPCPA levels and that the most common reasons for filing a bankruptcy petition are--as consumer bankruptcy attorneys have always maintained--life-altering events such as divorce and major medical crises.
Bankruptcy Filings in North Carolina
In Cumberland County, North Carolina, the number of bankruptcy filings in a given month tended to range between 125 and 200, with the average hovering around 150. After the law change, that number dropped dramatically, just as it did across the country. However, in March of 2006 there were 87 filings in that county--more than 50 percent of the pre-BAPCPA average. Comparing any period in 2005 to the same period in 2006 will show a decline in 2006.
However, comparison between any two post-October time periods will show an increase in the later period. No matter how the numbers are spun, in less than a year bankruptcy petitions have already begun to increase dramatically, and most experts predict that the upward trend will continue.
Tags: bankruptcy filings
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 1st, 2006 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Bankruptcy News and Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.