Bankruptcy filings rose at the fastest pace in six months in May, as people fell behind on credit card, mortgage and other payments.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court figures show the number of Hawai'i bankruptcy petitions jumped to 154 in May, or 38 percent more than a year earlier.

"The numbers are up significantly because consumers are having a tougher and tougher time," said local bankruptcy attorney Ed Magauran.

"A lot of it is homeowners in bad shape."

Bankruptcy filings have been on the rise in Hawai'i for several reasons, including comparisons with the past two years when filings were low historically because of an October 2005 change in U.S. bankruptcy law that made it a little more difficult and costly to seek bankruptcy.

But while Hawai'i has had one of the lowest per-capita bankruptcy filing rates among states, attorneys report they are receiving more inquiries from potential clients.

Magauran said some of the increase is the result of homeowners who can't meet payments. He said some homeowners got mortgages thinking they could refinance later at lower interest rates once the homes appreciated and they had more equity in the residences.

He said higher gasoline and food prices are also cutting into some people's already stretched budgets and resulting in them falling further behind on home or credit card payments.

Attorney Stuart Ing said he's seeing Hawai'i residents who speculated in Mainland property markets by purchasing homes to flip, only to encounter problems when prices fell and they couldn't keep up with the payments.

"Everything you read about the subprime lending crisis is absolutely true," said Ing. "They were giving multiple mortgages to people who had no way of paying for it."

Ing said he doesn't see current trends of rising bankruptcies ending soon.

"It will probably keep going up for the next three years."

As in April, the increase in filings was led by a jump in Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings, with the number rising to 31 from 22 a year earlier. This type of bankruptcy lets consumers reschedule debt payments to help them catch up on shortfalls.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions rose to 123 from 89 as people opted to liquidate assets to pay creditors.