“Statistics compiled by the Administrative Office (AO) show that total liabilities and assets rose among the 1.4 million individuals filing non-business bankruptcy petitions in 2009 when compared to 2008, and that over a quarter of Chapter 13 filers have filed for bankruptcy before. These and other statistics regarding debtors who are individuals with primarily consumer debts seeking relief under Chapters 7, 11, and 13 have been compiled annually by the AO for Congress since October 2006, as required by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA). Much of the data are self-reported by debtors when they submit forms, bankruptcy schedules, motions, agreements, and other filings to the court, and are not validated by either the court or the AO. Debtors also may fail to provide some or all of the data required by BAPCPA. Therefore, some caution should be used when analyzing the report’s data. The reports are available here.”