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U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings last year increased 32.2%, to 1.06 million from 801,840 consumer filings in 2007, according to data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center. "Consumers are under great financial stress, with no immediate end in sight," Samuel J. Gerdano, executive director for the American Bankruptcy Institute, said of the report. "We expect the upward spike in personal bankruptcies to continue in 2009," Gerdano added. The number of consumer filings recorded in December fell 15%, to 84,926 from 99,925 in November, according to the research center's data. Chapter 13 filings represented 32% of all consumer cases in December, a slight decrease from November. Chapter 13 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is available for individuals with regular incomes whose debts do not exceed specific amounts, and debtors typically use such filings to budget some of their future earnings under a plan through which unsecured creditors are at least partially paid back.
