Declining Bankruptcy Filings In Maine Reveal Mixed Messages

Personal bankruptcy filings in Maine have been declining steadily since 2010, but attorneys and consumer advocates say the drop-off in bankruptcies isn’t necessarily good news. In fact, it might be an indicator that Mainers’ financial situations have worsened overall, they said, a reflection of increasingly squeezed households that can’t afford to file for bankruptcy, or people who have serious student debt that isn’t resolved through filing. Maine bankruptcy filings reached their most recent peak of about 4,200 in 2010, according to the U.S.