With too few jobs around for those who need them, more families and businesses are filing for bankruptcy in the Richmond region.
For the first quarter of 2010, an average of 781 entities – a combination of businesses and individuals – filed for bankruptcy in the Richmond District of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court each month. That’s up more than 100% from an average of 371 in the first quarter of 2009. Most are individuals or families but a few are businesses.
And for March, a record 966 parties filed for bankruptcy; or 165 percent more than March of 2009.
Most are personal filings by people who have lost a job, said Lynn Tavenner, a bankruptcy lawyer with the firm Tavenner & Beran.
Tavenner is also a trustee for the bankruptcy court, which means she helps filers complete the process on behalf of the court.
“On the trustee side, my docket has gotten larger and larger. The most recent time, we were there for most of the day, a year ago we were done in three hours.”
“A lot of times a family has both a husband and a wife working. Then one of them loses a job and that kills them,” she said.
Tavenner also said that businesses of all sorts are affected, including those in construction and restaurant/hospitality.
Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to [email protected].
With too few jobs around for those who need them, more families and businesses are filing for bankruptcy in the Richmond region.
For the first quarter of 2010, an average of 781 entities – a combination of businesses and individuals – filed for bankruptcy in the Richmond District of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court each month. That’s up more than 100% from an average of 371 in the first quarter of 2009. Most are individuals or families but a few are businesses.
And for March, a record 966 parties filed for bankruptcy; or 165 percent more than March of 2009.
Most are personal filings by people who have lost a job, said Lynn Tavenner, a bankruptcy lawyer with the firm Tavenner & Beran.
Tavenner is also a trustee for the bankruptcy court, which means she helps filers complete the process on behalf of the court.
“On the trustee side, my docket has gotten larger and larger. The most recent time, we were there for most of the day, a year ago we were done in three hours.”
“A lot of times a family has both a husband and a wife working. Then one of them loses a job and that kills them,” she said.
Tavenner also said that businesses of all sorts are affected, including those in construction and restaurant/hospitality.
Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to [email protected].