Means Test vs Actual Expenses, need clarification!

[Keebler]

I've been reading a bit and I've learned a lot. There's something I still can't figure out...

My income is below the mean for my area and when I use the Means Test dollar amounts I find that I have no disposable income. (Actually, I'm close to having disposable income but my actual medical expenses push me over the threshold.)

As I understand it, I won't need to pass the Means Test because I'm below the Median Income. (I would pass it if I needed to.)

The part that has me unsure is filling out the Income and Expense Schedules. I many cases, my actual expenses are below the Federal numbers from the Means Test. For example, I have two vehicles with virtually no equity but the payments are fairly low too. My house payment is below the Federal Means Test number too. At the same time, I have other expenses above the Federal amounts but they're difficult to document like a car payment.

There's also the tons of maintenance that hasn't been done on this old house. I am not exaggerating when I say it's literally falling apart! The little money I've spent can't really be documented. If this small amount is used for the purposes of determining disposable income, it'll also wark against me in a big way.

By which measure will I be considered for Chapter 7 versus 13? Will the fact that I've purchased cheap used vehicles from eBay cause me to be forced into 13 instead of 7?



I played with PACER a bit and learned a thing or two. One of the first stupid things I did was to request a report of all the filings here in the last year! I knew it was a mistake when the web page took several seconds to load. I ended up with a summary of the 1,200 or so Chapter 7 filings here over the last year. It was a several-dollar mistake but it turned out to be valuable too. I found that there was less than a dozen or so cases dismissed out of 1,200. Several were dismissed at the request of the person who filed. Only two or three were cases were dismissed because they found abuse -- the abuse was pretty obvious. I read the documents and I think they only dismissed the most extreme cases. However, it was always the Income and Expense Schedules that did them in because they showed disposable income WAS available despite what the Means Test said.

[SinkingFast]

When you do the Means Test,........... If you're below the Median and filing for Ch 7, you complete Form B22A and stop at Line 15 (I believe it is). That's where you compare what you make to the Median. Presumption Does Not Arise and you're done.

No one has ever posted here that they were below the Median and forced, by the Court to convert to Ch 13. Doesn't mean it can't happen. Just it's never been reported here on the Forum.

Schedule I vs Schedule J is a whole different ballgame than the Means Test. That's real life income vs real life expenses. If you're barely making ends meet at the end of a month then you're forgetting to include stuff you spend money on.

Here's a link for you to help you with some things you may have forgotten:

http://www.ca-bankruptcy-attorneys.c...alculator.html

As with most of us, you're probably so broke there's lots of things that you've let go because you didn't have the money. Doctor's visits. Dentist. Car repairs. Clothes. You name it.

Get yourself a little note pad and start jotting down things as you think of them. Money you've spent in the last year for various things that may not be monthly expenses. Any clothes items you remember buying, jot em down. How much you paid for auto insurance, write it down.

Start saving all your receipts. Just because you haven't spent money on it recently doesn't mean you won't need it soon. Get values of things, add them up, divide by 12 and put it in your expenses list.

For example,........ If you need dental work done, get an estimate of how much it will cost. Divide by 12 and add that to your medicals. You buy Tylenol or Advil?? Add that to your medicals.

Car repairs. Get estimates, divide by 12 and add that to your auto expenses.