Kansas bankruptcy filings fell 10.6% in the federal courts fiscal year ending September 30, 2012.  That compares with the 14% fall nationally, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Filings were down for all bankruptcy chapters:
- Chapter 7 Â (liquidation) 16%
- Chapter 13 (individual repayment plans) 10%
- Chapter 11 (businesses or individuals with high income or debts) 12%
- Chapter 12 (family farmers) 20%
Business filings fell 16% and consumer cases were down 14% nationally.
The 10.6% decrease in Kansas bankruptcy filings compares to 11.3% in Colorado, 16.3% New Mexico, 7.7 Northern Oklahoma (Tulsa), 10.2% Eastern Oklahoma, 9.4% Western Oklahoma (Oklahoma City), 13.1% Utah, 11.0% Wyoming, 8% Eastern Missouri (St. Louis), 13.6% Western Missouri (Kansas City), and 17% Nebraska.
Kansas saw 3.20 bankruptcy filings per 1,000 people in fiscal year 2012 ranking 30th in the country in chapter 7 filings and 18th in chapter 13 filings. There were 11 cases filed for family farmers, and 51 chapter 11 cases filed in Kansas. Chapter 11 is usually filed by corporations or individuals with large debts. About a third of the consumer filings (3,150) in Kansas were chapter 13 and 6,089 chapter 7 cases were filed for a total of 9,301 bankruptcy filings.
Plan completion rates far higher than the national average show chapter 13 bankruptcy works in Topeka, Kansas.  Debtors are receiving discharges and successfully adjusting their debts more often than not in this midwestern division.
