Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Continues to Rise in Georgia & Mass.

North Georgia and Massachusetts are the latest places in the United States to experience a surge in bankruptcy filings.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle is reporting that the amount of Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in Northern Georgia has increased by 12.5 percent since 2008, according to a recent report by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia.

From January 2009 to September 2009, there were 23,345 Chapter 7 filings.  In comparison, there were 20,745 Chapter 7 filings for the entire 2008 year.

Experts believe that a declining real estate market could be to blame, as real estate investments have lost their value, and a stiff credit market has made it difficult for property owners to inject new liquidity into their finances.

Massachusetts is another state that is seeing a rise in Chapter 7 bankruptcies.

There were 35 percent more Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the first nine months of 2009 than in the first nine months of 2008.  From January 2009 to September 2009, there were a total of 11,872 filings. During the same period in 2008 there were 8,777 filings. The figure for 2007 was even smaller, with only 6,229 Chapter 7 filings between January and September.

Experts believe that the surge in Chapter 7 filings in Massachusetts can be contributed to the fact that unlike Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Chapter 7 bankruptcy eliminates a large majority of debt. In fact, according to a report from the Warren Group, the amount of Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings dropped 23.4 percent statewide.

If you are interested in learning more about the bankruptcy statistics in your state, click here to find a bankruptcy attorney near you!