There is some interesting information for the people in New Jersey. According to a recent report, there were fewer people in our state and across the nation who sought the protections of a personal bankruptcy during 2013 than in the recent past. This was, at least in part, due to the slow economic recovery being experienced by many localities.
However, not everyone has been able to recover from the recession just yet. In fact, the number of bankruptcy filings topped 1.03 million last year. This was a decrease from 2012 when 1.19 million people found that they were unable to repay the debts that they owed.
In many cases, the report notes, people turned to bankruptcy when the real estate bubble burst. This was because they had been encouraged to take out loans against the equity in their homes. When that no longer existed, they found that they could not repay their debts. Some in these situations additionally suffered job losses and other financial difficulties that were common during the height of the economic downturn.
The good news is that there are remedies for people who suffer from this type of financial issue. Through the filing of a personal bankruptcy, people in New Jersey are often able to discharge many, if not all, of their unsecured debts. This can allow them to be free of the stress and fatigue caused by large debts and gives them the chance to restart their financial lives more quickly than they may have expected. This is good news for those who suffered during the recession, often through no fault of their own.
Source: The Aspen Times, Bringing it Home: Pitkin bankruptcies rose during the recession, Rick Carroll, Jan. 12, 2014
