Many people may believe that once a recession has been declared over and most economic indicators point to a positive economy, the need for personal bankruptcy no longer exists. This could not be further from the truth and plenty of Mississippi residents are all too aware of their continued need for debt relief.
As explained by the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Mississippi, there were a total of 427 bankruptcy cases filed in Jackson County in 2017. Of those, 282 cases were for Chapter 7 bankruptcies and another 144 were for Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans. In January of 2018 alone, another 24 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings and 14 Chapter 13 filings have been recorded.
The number of bankruptcy cases initiated in Mississippi is something that other states have also seen. According to Nerd Wallet, many southern states in particular continue to see many consumers in need of this type of assistance. A 2016 report showed that the median for bankruptcy filings nationwide was 224 people out of every 100,000 residents in an area. In the state of Mississippi, the median bankruptcy filing rate was higher than that at 361 out of every 100,000 residents.
In the Nerd Wallet report, six other states in the country had higher bankruptcy rates than did Mississippi including Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. Kentucky and Arkansas were also in the top 10 of the states with the most bankruptcy filings nationwide. Sadly the report also highlighted that many areas with high rates of bankruptcy also had median income levels below the national average. Some states on the list also have some of the least protections available for debtors.
