During calendar year 2012, more than one million bankruptcy petitions were filed by individuals with primarily consumer debt, according to a new report.
Filers had a median average monthly income of just above $2,700, the report shows, and most filed under Chapter 7.
In addition, the statistics showed that, for more debtors in 2012, it was not the first time they had filed for bankruptcy.
Statistics on individuals filing for bankruptcy last year under chapters 7, 11, and 13 are contained in an annual report required by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005.
They were published recently in The Third Branch News, the federal judiciary’s monthly print publication.
The data collected included:
• About 69 percent of consumer bankruptcy petitions filed in 2012 were filed under chapter 7, down from 70 percent in 2011.
• In 30 percent of the chapter 13 cases filed last year, debtors reported that they had filed for bankruptcy protection during the previous eight years. That’s a two percent increase from 2011.
• Consumer debtors seeking bankruptcy protection reported holding total assets in the aggregate amount of $140 billion. Total assets reported fell 18 percent over the comparable numbers the prior year.
• Aggregated liabilities totaled $218 billion, falling 22 percent over comparable data for 2011.
• Median average monthly income reported by all debtors was $2,743, one percent lower than in 2011.
Filers in the Northern District of California had the highest median average monthly income at $3,673.
• Median average monthly expenses were $2,769. Filers in the U.S. Virgin Islands had the highest median average expenses with $4,715.
Information available in the BAPCPA Report includes data on all three chapters for debtors' assets, liabilities, income, and expenses; median time intervals
from case filing to disposition; creditor misconduct; attorney sanctions; prior filing status, property valuation orders, cases closed by plan dismissal or completion for chapter 13 cases; and statistics on reaffirmation agreements in chapter 7 cases.
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