Bankruptcy : 2006 Bankruptcy Filings Down to a Third of Last Year's Totals

2006 bankruptcy filings through the months of January to September fell to a third of last year's totals for the same time period, according to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. 443,750 personal and business bankruptcies were filed during those nine months this year, marking the lowest figures since 1987 and a 68.5% decrease from the 1.41 million bankruptcies filed during that period in 2005. This decrease is due in much part to last year's bankruptcy law change that many believed would make it harder to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and thus prompted some 600,000 filings in the weeks prior to the law's enactment in October 2005. Whether the 2006 totals prove to be a permanent change or just a trend remains to be seen. Bankruptcy professionals are pretty confident that filings will gradually increase over time as the 2005 totals were skewed by the mad rush of filings and mistaken belief that people would no longer qualify. A local bankruptcy attorney can explain how the law change really impacts you.