Washington ? The number of bankruptcies in the United States surged to an all-time high in the second quarter of this year as financially troubled consumers scrambled to file before a rewrite of bankruptcy laws takes full effect.

Bankruptcy filings to federal courts in the April-to-June quarter totaled 467,333, according to data released Wednesday from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That marked a record number of filings made in any quarter.

Of that total, most – 458,597 – were personal bankruptcy filings; the remaining 8,736 were businesses filing for bankruptcy, the data showed.

The new law goes fully into effect on Oct. 17.

Earlier this year, President Bush signed into law the most sweeping rewrite of U.S. bankruptcy codes in a quarter century. The measure makes it tougher to erase debt obligations in bankruptcy.