Nearly half of all individuals filing for bankruptcy protection in 2007 were between the ages of 45 and 64, according to a study published by the American Bankruptcy Institute's ABI Journal and cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Specifically, people generally lumped into the Baby Boomer generation accounted for 42 percent of bankruptcies during that year. More recent statistics were not available but a bankruptcy attorney in Atlanta could probably provide some anecdotal insight.
John Golmant and James Woods, the statistician and social science analyst (respectively) who co-authored the study, said Boomers are filing for bankruptcy at a much higher rate than other demographic groups:
"The baby boomers are disproportionately represented in bankruptcy proceedings. This significant demographic uptick in older bankruptcy filers has outstripped the aging of the general population as a whole."
This is especially true of individuals between the ages of 55 and 64, who grew as a category of bankruptcy filers by 65 percent from 2002 to 2007. This trend goes back to 1994, in which people in that same age bracket accounted for only 7 percent of all bankruptcies. That figure more than doubled to 15.2 percent in 2007.
People 25 years old and younger, meanwhile, saw a 60 percent decline in the bankruptcy filing rate during the same period.
Much of the increase in filings among older Americans has to with plummeting home values, especially in light of the study's finding that people over the age of 50 were targeted for refinancing during the now-defunct housing boom.
High credit card debt and skyrocketing medical bills also were critical factors, according to the study.
If you would like to speak with an Atlanta bankruptcy lawyer, it helps to know that many of them offer free initial consultations.
Related Resources:
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Find Georgia Bankruptcy Lawyers (FindLaw)
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Are Elderly Poverty Rates Actually Higher? (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life Blog)
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