Seattle, Wash — As retailers around the country anxiously begin their countdown to Black Friday, Avvo, Inc., the web’s largest legal Q&A forum, directory and legal marketplace (http://www.avvo.com), today released the results of a survey* which found that credit card debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy among its users. Thirty-two percent of people surveyed cite credit card debt as the reason they filed for bankruptcy, followed by home foreclosure (13 percent) and job loss (12 percent).
The majority of consumers in the survey (64 percent) filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, which is the most common form of bankruptcy filed in the U.S. Consumers equally cited the impact on their credit rating (20 percent) and overall uncertainty about the outcome (20 percent) as their principal concern with filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
“Decreased income or stagnant incomes that have become so common in this new economy, as well as large amounts of credit card debt, are primary reasons my clients file for bankruptcy,” said California bankruptcy attorney Kelly Zinser. “I meet with many clients who have been trying to pay off their credit card debt for years, sometimes five years or more. Bankruptcy filing is relative for each person but most of my clients have at least $30,000 in debt and many have more than $100,000 in debt.”
Eighty-three percent hired an attorney to handle their bankruptcy, 14 percent handled the bankruptcy on their own, and only 2 percent hired a credit counselor. In addition, 65 percent are female and 36 percent are between the ages of 45 to 54 years, which is similar to the national average for bankruptcy filers.
About Avvo, Inc.
Avvo.com is the web’s largest legal Q&A forum, directory and legal marketplace (http://www.avvo.com), providing trusted answers to consumer legal questions every 8.3 seconds. In Avvo’s Q&A forum consumers can get free legal advice 24/7 from more than 150,000 participating lawyers, and Avvo’s directory provides comprehensive profiles, client reviews, peer endorsements and the industry-recognized Avvo Rating for more than 95 percent of all lawyers in the U.S. The Avvo Legal Marketplace, currently available for traffic tickets, divorce and DUI cases, revolutionizes how consumers find and hire an attorney. In addition, Avvo helps lawyers grow their business with Avvo Ignite, a cloud-based marketing platform and website solution designed specifically for attorneys. Founded in 2007, Avvo is privately held with funding from Benchmark Capital, Ignition Partners and DAG Ventures.
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*The Avvo Bankruptcy Survey was an online survey of more than 175 Avvo users who indicated they had a bankruptcy issue in the last year.
