Bankruptcies rise in last year

With an ailing economy, the most recent figures show a 33.3 percent rise in bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2009.

In particular, Chapter 7 filings, mainly the chapter for poor individuals, rose 46.3 percent. A total of 819,362 Chapter 7 filings were made during the most recent period, as opposed to 560,015 the previous year.

Chapter 13 filing saw a more meager increase of 9.8 percent. A total of 370,875 Chapter 13 filings took place over the most recent period, up from 334,551 the previous year.

Chapter 11 business filings showed the greatest jump, with a 69.1 percent increase.