It’s not surprising that bankruptcy filings increase in a down economy, but probably few people expected the rate of filings to triple in just a four-year period. Our recent in-depth analysis of Northern District of California bankruptcy filings over the period from 2007-2010 revealed that bankruptcy filings increased over 300%. In 2007, 12,599 bankruptcy cases were filed (total Chapter 7, 11, 12 and 13 filings) commenced, and by 2010 the bankruptcy court was handling 39,066 filings.
Bankruptcy offers many benefits to distressed consumers and businesses, including the discharge of most debts and the opportunity to start building credit again. Based on the numbers, more and more people are seeing the value in the fresh start that bankruptcy offers.
