As a national, we may be in recovery mode, but that doesn't mean we're going to see a decrease in bankruptcy filings anytime soon. This February, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) counted 111,693 consumer filings - a 14 percent increase from February 2009, and a nine percent jump from this past January.

What's this mean for consumers? Essentially it means that, even though we've found the right path out of woods, there's still a lot of timber between us and the clearing. States like California have been hit especially hard hit by consumer bankruptcies and, in 2009, the state recorded more bankruptcy filings than any other - over 200,000.

According to the ABI, most of this year's filings have been for chapter 7 bankruptcy, which is no surprise. As a liquidation bankruptcy, chapter 7 gets rid of the most debt - the fastest. Most importantly, for many consumers, chapter 7 gets rid of credit card bills, which make up a huge amount of consumer debt, nationwide.

In 2009, 78 percent of California's bankruptcy filings fell under chapter 7. This was despite the fact that, in 2005, federal lawmakers made it harder to prove chapter 7 bankruptcy in an attempt to force more consumers to file for chapter 13.

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a structured repayment of debt and, instead of ridding individuals of all outstanding bills, helps those who are able to repay debt create a plan for doing so.

Experts expect bankruptcy filings to continue their climb, at least in the short term.

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