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Bankruptcy Filings Soar Prior to New Bankruptcy Law
Bankruptcy filings in the federal courts skyrocketed a record 30 percent in
calendar year 2005. The increase occurred largely in response to the passage of
the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), as
many debtors filed petitions before the law’s general effective date of October
17, 2005.
Bankruptcies filed in the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, totaled
2,078,415, up from the 1,597,462 petitions filed in the 12-month period ending
December 31, 2004. This was the largest number of bankruptcy petitions ever
filed in any 12-month period in the history of the federal courts. Bankruptcy
filings for the three-month period, October 1-December 31, 2005, totaled
667,431, an historic high for any quarter and up 80 percent from the 371,668
filings for the same time period in 2004.