More than 5,600 Utahns filed for bankruptcy in October, topping the number of filings during the previous three months combined.

Bankruptcy lawyers across the board say the spike is directly related to the change in bankruptcy law that went into effect in mid-October and likely does not represent a larger trend.

During October, 5,680 Utahns filed for bankruptcy, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah reported Monday. That number includes 4,880 Chapter 7 filings and 794 filings under Chapter 13 of the bankruptcy code. There were six Chapter 11 filings.

"The increase is directly related to the change in the law," said Duane Gilman, a Utah attorney and a bankruptcy trustee for 23 years. "It happened for two reasons: one, the Congress and the creditor community got the word out that this new bill was going to make it more difficult (to file for bankruptcy). And secondly, I think the debtor bar locally got that word out also. So, people who were considering filing went ahead and filed prior to the act."

Signed into law in April by President Bush, the Bankruptcy Reform Act went into effect Oct. 17. The law, the most sweeping reform of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in decades, sets new limits on personal bankruptcy filing and requires people to get professional credit counseling before they are allowed to file petitions.

The law also bars most filers with above-average income from filing Chapter 7 petitions, which allow debts to be erased. Instead, people deemed to have at least $100 a month left over after paying certain debts and expenses have to submit a five-year repayment plan under more restrictive Chapter 13 guidelines. The law also sets some restrictions on businesses.

In the three months before the law was enacted, a total of 5,410 people filed for bankruptcy, short of the 5,680 who filed in the first few weeks of October.

"People were aware that the change was coming, and that's why you have the increase in filings," Gilman said. "I don't think there's an economic reason for it, not in Utah at any rate. This has to do with the act."

Supporters believed the changes will help rein in consumers who pile up credit card debt only to wipe it out with a Chapter 7 filing. Opponents said the law will hurt those who incur debt unexpectedly due to health problems or lost jobs.

Anna W. Drake, a Salt Lake bankruptcy attorney, said she questions whether the law will work.

"It's my opinion that what the Congress intended to accomplish didn't occur," Drake said. "The law was changed to eliminate abuses in the system, but in changing the law, in an effort to try to catch the few who abuse the system, everyone is now suffering. In the long run, I question whether creditors will actually receive any more under the new law than they did under the old one."

And for those who did file before the new law went into effect, particularly for those who filed for Chapter 7 protection, Gilman said they should expect filings to undergo more scrutiny.

"What we're dealing with is a situation where people are trying to avoid the means test, or are fearful of it," he said. "There will be a great deal of scrutiny on these last-minute filings, to see if they're appropriate, both by the U.S. Trustees office and by individual trustees."

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