Judge Sarah Sharer Curley, who retired from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona in 2014, has published a book examining the intersection of debt, bankruptcy, and financial fairness in America. In an interview this month, Curley reflected on her decades of experience presiding over bankruptcy cases and discussed concerning trends in personal debt.
Curley pointed to a notable increase in bankruptcy filings in 2025, with more than half a million cases filed — representing an approximately 50% rise compared to three years earlier, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. She attributed this surge to multiple factors, including job loss, medical emergencies, and mounting student loan obligations. Curley emphasized that many individuals filing for bankruptcy are not unemployed but instead work in low-quality employment situations, such as independent contracting positions or multiple part-time jobs that fail to provide adequate income or benefits.
Curley expressed particular concern about recent policy changes affecting student loan borrowers. She characterized a bill that passed in July 2025 as harmful to student loan holders, noting that it created unrealistic federal loan caps. This limitation pushes borrowers toward private financial institutions offering higher interest rates, making education financing increasingly expensive and potentially unsustainable. Curley projected that these policy changes would likely drive additional bankruptcy filings in the coming period.
Curley also discussed challenges facing borrowers seeking relief under previous administrative approaches. She noted that following changes to the Department of Education in 2025, opportunities for debt settlement and loan forgiveness programs became more limited due to staffing reductions. Throughout her career, Curley encountered cases where federal government representatives took aggressive positions in bankruptcy proceedings, sometimes without conducting adequate investigations into borrowers’ financial circumstances.
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