Bankruptcy filings overall did not grow as much in South Carolina last year as they did in 2008. But that does not mean the worst is over, lawyers said.
Consider how the number of people who filed to liquidate their assets spiked 32 percent statewide last year, while the number who sought payment plans fell, according to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
That goes to South Carolina having the nation's fourth-highest jobless rate, said George Cauthen, head of Nelson Mullins' bankruptcy practice: "You need to have a job to come up with a payment plan."
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And the backlog of foreclosures in courts means more bankruptcies are coming, said Gene Allen, a bankruptcy attorney at Nexsen Pruet. Many people in foreclosure will wait until their homes are ready to be sold before filing for bankruptcy.
He also expects business bankruptcies to balloon this year as more companies cannot get loans to help stave off creditors.
"There are a lot of things sizzling," Allen said.
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THE NUMBERS
Bankruptcy filing data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Court. Year-over-year change is in parentheses :
Total new filings
| S.C. | U.S |
|---|
| 2009 | 9,799 (13.2% ) | 1.47 million (24.2%) |
| 2008 | 8,501 (14.2%) | 1.12 million (23.2%) |
| 2007 | 7,291 | 850,912 |
Filings per 1,000 people
| S.C. | U.S. |
|---|
| 2009 | 2.15 | 4.73 |
| 2008 | 1.90 | 3.62 |
| 2007 | 1.65 | 2.78 |
S.C. business filings
|
|---|
| 2009 | 446 (39.9%) |
| 2008 | 268 (46.3%) |
| 2007 | 144 |
S.C. individual filings
|
|---|
| 2009 | 9,353 (12%) |
| 2008 | 8,234 (13.2%) |
| 2007 | 7,147 |
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