ELDER BANKRUPTCIES SOAR

Evansville Courier Press - Bankruptcy is becoming more common among the elderly, according to a report written by the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. Robert Musgrave, the Chapter 13 trustee of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Southern Indiana, said he doesn't have to look at a report to know that is the case. . . Musgrave often sees two sets of circumstances that force the elderly into bankruptcy. Many people retire from a job with loans - on credit cards or in mortgages - even though they hadn't planned to be in debt at that point in their life. While making payments was fairly easy when they still worked, it suddenly becomes difficult on a reduced income. tendency to get a new mortgage or a second mortgage late in life also seems to be adding to the troubles. . .
According to the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, most bankruptcies are still filed by young people. Still, their percentage of the total filings has fallen between 1991 and 2007, the organization said in its study, which will be published in the Harvard Law and Policy Review in January.

In 1991, those who were 55 or older accounted for about 8 percent of bankruptcy filers. In 2007, they accounted for 22 percent. And the filing rate of those between the ages of 65 and 74 rose by 125 percent. For those between 75 and 84, it rose by 433 percent. Meanwhile groups younger than 55 saw their bankruptcy filings decrease by double digits.