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WASHINGTON (AP) - Personal bankruptcies soared 30 percent to a record high last year, surpassing 2 million for the first time, as financially strained people rushed to file before new restrictions took effect Oct. 17.
Bankruptcy petitions filed in federal courts totaled 2,039,214 in 2005, up from 1,563,145 in 2004, according to data released Friday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
A new law, which brought the most comprehensive revision of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in a quarter-century, made it more difficult to erase credit card and other debts in bankruptcy. Prior to its enactment, the number of bankruptcy filings had been fairly stable.
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