by Calculated Risk on 1/05/2010 08:40:00 AM

The WSJ reports: Personal Bankruptcy Filings Rising Fast

Overall, personal bankruptcy filings hit 1.41 million last year, up 32% from 2008, according to the National Bankruptcy Research Center ...

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the non-business bankruptcy filings by year.

Note: Data from Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 2009 is estimated using media reports of data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

The annual rate is at about the same level as prior to when the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) took effect. There were over 2 million bankruptcies filed in Calendar 2005 ahead of the law change.

"I can't see over the top of the files on my desk," said Cathleen Moran, a bankruptcy attorney at Moran Law Group in Mountain View, Calif., likening it to the rush of clients before the revised law went into effect.

Click on cartoon for larger image in new window. And a repeat: Cartoon from Eric G. Lewis, a freelance cartoonist living in Orange County, CA.