In a bad year for bankruptcies, Alaska among best-off states

The AP gathered data from the nation's 90 bankruptcy districts and found 1.43 million filings, an increase of 32 percent from 2008.

For Alaska, where the economy was in a mild recession compared with a sharp recession in many other states, the increase in filings was 12 percent. Nebraska's increase was the same and the rise in North Dakota was 14 percent.

While experts believe some of the increase nationwide is due to a natural recovery as consumers and attorneys become accustomed to a recent overhaul of bankruptcy laws in 2005, the numbers indicate clear correlations to recession-weary regions. Arizona saw the fastest increase, a jump of 77 percent from the year before, followed by Wyoming (60 percent), Nevada (59 percent) and California (58 percent).

Emile Harmon, who owns a law firm in Tempe, Ariz., said the firm has doubled its staff to handle the surge in bankruptcy filings. The lawyers have been steadily shifting away from their other areas of business, civil lawsuits and divorce cases.

There's also no sign that things are slowing down. Harmon said bankruptcies have been coming in waves, first with those 18 months ago who had adjustable-rate mortgages, then with those who lost their jobs due to the housing downturn. Now he's finding wealthy individuals and business owners who have finally succumbed to lower incomes and shrinking home values.

Bankruptcies surged to slightly more than 2 million in 2005 as consumers rushed to file before the new law took effect but then plummeted to 600,000 in 2006. They've been climbing ever since and in 2009 became the seventh-highest year on record, behind only the years 1998 and 2001-2005.

The Anchorage Daily News/adn.com contributed to this article.