Wichita ? Bankruptcies in Kansas soared to record levels last year as layoffs in the aviation industry and drought took their toll on urban and rural households alike.

Bankruptcy cases in Kansas rose to 14,977 in 2002, breaking the record set in 2001 of 13,940 filings, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court figures.

Some 1,037 more Kansas families and businesses filed for bankruptcy last year than they did the year earlier.

Wichita bankruptcy lawyer Terry Stephens said she saw a huge increase in clients who were aviation workers that had been laid off or saw their overtime cut so much they were not able to pay all their bills.

Since July 1, 2001, about 14,200 Wichita aircraft workers have been laid off. Another 1,500 jobs are expected to be cut at Cessna this year.

After two back-to-back years of record bankruptcy filings, Stephens said she did not expect 2003 to be much better.

“I can’t think of a reason it is going to be much better,” she said. “Everybody you talk to is getting a layoff notice or knows somebody who did. The only hope is that people will be more cautious in their spending.”

By far, the majority of the 2002 cases were filed under Chapter 7 liquidation. That category rose to 12,099 last year, compared to 11,474 filings a year earlier, court records show.

Forty-five Kansas businesses filed under Chapter 11, normally reserved for business reorganizations. That is down from the 51 who asked for business reorganizations in 2001.

Families filing under Chapter 13, normally reserved for personal reorganization, totaled 2,811 cases in 2002, up from 2,392 filings in 2001.

Kansas also had 22 farms file last year under a Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy, compared to 23 such filings in 2001.

However, Hugh Zavadil, chief deputy clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wichita, cautioned against drawing conclusions on the number of farm bankruptcies because the Chapter 12 legislation dealing specifically with farms lapsed for a period of time during both years.