Bankruptcy Filings Drop Under New Law

by Mike Bevel, CollectionIndustry.com

Since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act went into effect a year ago, bankruptcy filings have appeared to decrease. In the first half of this year, bankruptcy filings were down significantly from the first six months of 2005. And more consumers are filing Chapter 13 petitions — the section of the bankruptcy law that allows for a repayment of debts — rather than trying to shed debts altogether.

But are the new numbers directly related to BAPCPA? That?s tougher to tell. For one thing, there was a surge of bankruptcy filings last year before the new law went into effect in mid-October. And while Chapter 13 filings are up, so are the costs for attorney fees and other expenses associated with the law, they add.

For the first six months of 2006, the number of filings was the lowest in 20 years, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. Filings for personal bankruptcies totaled 263,660, compared with 851,683 for the first half of 2005, a drop of 69 percent.

Chapter 13 filings represented 41 percent of consumer cases in the first half of the year, up from 24 percent in the first half of 2005, the institute added.