Just had free consultation w/Lawyer on phone...

[Cassiopeia]

Good post, lprn!

[lrprn]

On his paystub he gets around 3400.00 e Gross before taxes 2,400 Net AFTER taxes, every two weeks. That's with overtime- without overtime he gets 3,000 before taxes. ... I do not work as of now and no we haven't received any other income besides him paycheck. WE do not own a home (rent) and our 1 car is quite old.[/

Ok....this helps a lot!

if your husband works overtime for the last six months before you file and since overtime must be included when calculating your annual income for the Means Test, then $3400 x 26 (paid every two weeks) = $88,400 annual income.

Unfortunately that's well above the current California median income for 4 people which is $72,996. Since you have no mortgage or car payments that would help decrease your disposable income on the required Means Test, that may make filing Ch 7 in this situation impossible

However, let's say that your husband stops working overtime for six months before you file. In that situation with $3,000 gross income every two weeks = $78,000 annual income which is curently still above the median for a family of 4 in California but not nearly as much. Depending on your other financial circumstances, ongoing living expenses, and which of California's two exemption systems works best for you, it MIGHT be possible to file Ch 7. You need an experienced bk lawyer to help you figure this out.

The potentially good news here is that the median income tables were due to change two days ago on October 14. I haven't been able to find the updated table online yet - hopefully it will be posted on the US Trustee Program's site soon. No guarantee there will be any increase, but there could be.

Start by making appointments for free or low cost initial consultations with 3-4 bankruptcy lawyers in your area. Lay out everything you've told us here.

Also we have a fair number of currently active forum members from California so hopefully they will send you PMs (private messages) with suggestions for good lawyers. Another place to check for bankruptcy lawyers nearby is www.martindale.com.

Keep us posted about what you find out, deesown. Hang in there. Knowing where you stand is 100% better than guessing.

[deesown]

Ok....this helps a lot!

if your husband works overtime for the last six months before you file and since overtime must be included when calculating your annual income for the Means Test, then $3400 x 26 (paid every two weeks) = $88,400 annual income.

Unfortunately that's well above the current California median income for 4 people which is $72,996. Since you have no mortgage or car payments that would help decrease your disposable income on the required Means Test, that may make filing Ch 7 in this situation impossible

However, let's say that your husband stops working overtime for six months before you file. In that situation with $3,000 gross income every two weeks = $78,000 annual income which is curently still above the median for a family of 4 in California but not nearly as much. Depending on your other financial circumstances, ongoing living expenses, and which of California's two exemption systems works best for you, it MIGHT be possible to file Ch 7. You need an experienced bk lawyer to help you figure this out.

The potentially good news here is that the median income tables were due to change two days ago on October 14. I haven't been able to find the updated table online yet - hopefully it will be posted on the US Trustee Program's site soon. No guarantee there will be any increase, but there could be.

Start by making appointments for free or low cost initial consultations with 3-4 bankruptcy lawyers in your area. Lay out everything you've told us here.

Also we have a fair number of currently active forum members from California so hopefully they will send you PMs (private messages) with suggestions for good lawyers. Another place to check for bankruptcy lawyers nearby is www.martindale.com.

Keep us posted about what you find out, deesown. Hang in there. Knowing where you stand is 100% better than guessing.

Thank you lrprn for being so helpful, I really appreciate it. We have an appoitment already to see our laywer on Tuesday. Sometimes my husband has no choice working the overtime. If he is needed to stay over and work on Saturdays he has to it is in their contract. He gets every third weekened off.