PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island saw 105 bankruptcies in August, an increase from 82 in the same month a year earlier, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court data released Tuesday.
Bankruptcies in the state totaled 129 in July.
Of all bankruptcies, two were business filings and 103 were consumer filings. A majority of filings, 97, were Chapter 7 filings while nine were Chapter 13.
Chapter 7 discharges qualifying debt, although when it involves a company it is likely that it will be liquidated as part of the process. Chapter 7 is the most common form of bankruptcy in the country. Chapter 13 involves repayment of debts, often by establishing a repayment plan that allows unsecured creditors to recover part or all of what they are owed.
By the end of August, there had been 986 bankruptcies in Rhode Island in 2020, compared with 1,465 at that time one year prior.
