Bankruptcy filings on the rise in Western New York

High mortgage rates, car loans, and out of control credit card debt are adding up to one of the biggest problems facing Americans today: personal bankruptcy. Kevin Bambury is a bankruptcy lawyer for Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law. He says several factors fueling the rise bankruptcy filings. “I think that coincides with the economy having trouble, at the same time period gas, and mortgages. People are having a lot of problems with mortgages,” said Bambury.

Nationally bankruptcy cases jumps 40 percent. According to the National bankruptcy Research Center more than 800,000 people filed for bankruptcy in 2007 compared to 573,000 in 2006.

“Our bankruptcy statistics have almost always tracked the national averages,” said U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge John Ninfo. Judge Ninfo says 2,140 people in Rochester filed for bankruptcy in 2007 compared to 1,671 cases in 2006. “All of the underpinnings of what’s going on out there says that these consumers are going to need some kind of financial relief down the line. They’re still doing all the wrong things and the economy is turning on them,” said Judge Ninfo.

So what can you do to make sure you don’t find yourself before Judge Ninfo or sitting in Kevin Bambury's office? Both say the key is getting your credit card debt under control. “The biggest issue is try not to have any credit card debt because the problem is once you have a certain amount of credit card debt your gas prices go up or your medical bills increase you can't afford those payments anymore and that's where you run into trouble,” added Bambury.