Bankruptcy Filings Down 21% in April 2022
Bankruptcy analytics firm Epiq Bankruptcy is reporting that the number of bankruptcy filings in April 2022 is down 21% year-over-year from April 2021. This is a little surprising since March saw a 34% increase in filings over March 2021.
Why the decrease in filings?
The filing numbers have been pretty all over the map the last couple of years. Most observers and bankruptcy practitioners were expecting an avalanche of filings last year because of the pandemic. The avalanche never came. Same for this year-still no avalanche.
There seem to be reasons to support in increase in filings (high inflation, the end of stimulus money, high rental costs), but the number of filings have still been declining. Perhaps it because student loan forbearance is still in effect through August 2022. It could also just be that people are still leaning on the savings that they were able to build up during the stimulus payments and added unemployment insurance during the pandemic. Furthermore, the FTC has found that on average, someone doesn’t file for bankruptcy until it has been 22 months since their first missed payment. That is to say it has just been too soon, which means they’re struggling right now, but not enough yet to look into bankruptcy.
If this is you, don’t put it off any longer. Don’t stress yourself out with worry if you don’t have to.
Contact us today to schedule your free bankruptcy consultation. We are doing consultations by phone, so it’s super easy to find out if bankruptcy is an option for you.
