Consumer bankruptcy filings are on course to reach 1.4 million filings  by the end of 2009, which would be the most filings in a year since 2005, when 2 million were filed.  In 2005, major bankruptcy reform measures were signed into law in an attempt to curb bankruptcy abuse.  Bankruptcy filings were  between Oct 2005 and the end of 2008.  With the economic downtown and rise in unemployment (currently at a 26 year high of 9.5%) bankruptcies are skyrocketing.  The stress of income loss, combined with pre-existing debt, is forcing more and more Americans into bankruptcy.  The rise in bankruptcy filings varies from state to state, but overall, according to new statistics from the American Bankruptcy Institute, U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased by more than 30% compared to the same time one year ago.