Last week, a report from the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) revealed that the number of Americans who filed for bankruptcy (Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Chapter 12 bankruptcy and Chapter 13 bankruptcy) declined precipitously from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2011 - falling by as much as eight percent.

Citing figures from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the ABI press release indicated that there were approximately 1,467,221 bankruptcy filings in the U.S. during fiscal year 2011 (September 30, 2010 to September 30, 2011) as compared with 1,596,355 bankruptcy filings in fiscal year 2010 (September 30, 2009 to September 30, 2010).

In regard to consumer bankruptcy, the ABI report indicated that Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings declined by 11 percent in fiscal year 2011 (1,036,950 Chapter 7 filings in 2011 v. 1,146,511 Chapter 7 filings in 2010), while Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings declined by four percent in fiscal year 2011 (417,503 Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings in 2011 v. 434,839 Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings in 2010).

What was behind this relatively steep decline in bankruptcy rates?

"The decline in consumer bankruptcies is the residue of a sustained debt deleveraging by U.S. households," said Samuel J. Gerdano, Executive Director of the ABI.

The ABI report also determined that the average bankruptcy filing rate per 1,000 Americans was 4.85. Breaking the numbers down further, it stated that 3.44 Americans per 1,000 filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, while 1.37 Americans per 1,000 filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Interestingly, the ABI report indicated that the district with the largest overall increase in bankruptcy filings in fiscal year 2011 was the District of Utah (6.5 percent), while the district with the largest overall decrease in bankruptcy filings in fiscal year 2011 was the District of Guam (30.8 percent).

The following post is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.

If you would like to learn more about Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, take the time to speak with an experienced legal or financial professional.

Stay tuned for further developments from our Phoenix bankruptcy blog ...

Source:

American Bankruptcy Institute, "Total U.S. FY 2011 bankruptcies down 8 percent over FY 2010; Filings fall across all chapters" Nov. 8, 2011