More means test questions

[coopersmydog]

I just had a bad initial consultation with an attorney, and now I'm more confused than ever. I need some clarification on what actually determines if I can file chapter 7.

There are multiple forms, which I understand as the following.

B6I - Income
B6J - Actual Expenses
B22A - Means test - Uses national standards for expenses
B22C - Calculates disposable income for CH13, again using national standards.

My question is which expense figures are used for actually deciding if I have disposable income, and how is the repayment amount decided upon?

For example - If my family of 3 spends $600 on food and clothing, etc. And the national standard is $1151, which expense gets used?

Hopefully I'm asking this correctly, but I'm extremely confused right now.

[JRScott]

You'd use the 600

[Help!]

B22A is the place to start. The means test takes into account your income and expenses in the six months prior to filing (ending on the last day of the month before filing). The result of going through these calculations is a number that causes you to check one of two boxes... the one that says "Presumption [of abuse] Arises" or the one that says "Presumption Does Not Arise". In order to qualify for Ch. 7, your result must allow you to check the latter.