Since the 1960s, personal bankruptcy has often served as a refuge for the young and struggling. Bankruptcy lawyers say younger and less-educated people tended to rack up too much debt while starting families and jobs, without a savings cushion to carry them through lean times. That's changing, as personal bankruptcy filings hit all-time highs. Last year, there were more than 1.6 million such filings, nearly twice as many as a decade earlier. Some experts say much of the increase is being driven by older people, many with decades of work experience in white-collar jobs. In 2001, per capita filings by people ages 45 to 54 increased 58% from a decade earlier, according to one study. Bankruptcy is a legal proceeding that allows a person who is overwhelmed with debts to eventually become debt-free. In a typical personal-bankruptcy case, credit-card balances and other "unsecured" debts-which are not backed by any collateral-are wiped out entirely. Under court supervision, the debtor then......
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