What Are the Most Common Reasons for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy?

The most common reasons for filing bankruptcy are:
Unemployment; Significant medical expenses; Excessive credit utilization; Marital conflicts, and; Other significant unexpected expenses.
A study conducted by a renowned university indicated that approximately half of bankruptcy cases in the United States were triggered by medical bills (MSNBC). The study, which appeared online in February 2005 in the journal Health Affairs, was based on research conducted by the university. The findings of the said study revealed that health problems and medical bills were responsible for 50.4 percent of the 1,458,000 individual bankruptcies that occurred in 2001. Furthermore, the study estimated that medical bankruptcies affected approximately 2 million Americans every year, taking into account individuals and their dependents, including roughly 700,000 children.