Chapter 7 income

[woohoogirl]

My income is below the median income. Does anything else matter when it come to whether I file CH 7 or 13? I flunked the means test as well.

[lrprn]

My income is below the median income. Does anything else matter when it come to whether I file CH 7 or 13?

Although income is a primary decider about whether you can file Ch 7 or not, it's not the only thing that matters. The relationship between your income, your assets, and your expenses matters too.

I flunked the means test as well.

When you say "flunk", do you mean that a practice Means Test showed you can file Ch 7 or the practice test showed you have "presumption of abuse" (in other words, you don't qualify for Ch 7)?

[woohoogirl]

Sorry means test showed I could file Ch 7.

[PaKettle]

My income is below the median income. Does anything else matter when it come to whether I file CH 7 or 13? I flunked the means test as well.

It depends on how much money you have left over after paying all your necessary bills (rent, utilities,student loans, car payment, etc.). You have to show that you have close to zero money left over.

One mistake that some people make is thinking that they can count their credit card bills towards their payments. No, that is not the way you do it. You count only the bills you will STILL HAVE AFTER being discharged from bankruptcy.

The best way to know is to have a free consultation with an attorney in your area. But the more info he has, the more accurately he can tell you. So you need to know how much you made, gross, over the previous 6 months, how much you pay for all your bills that you will still have after bankruptcy, and approximately how much you spend per month on clothes, food, gasoline, car repairs and maintenance, etc..

You can find expense calculators on this board, I think in the main forum under "stickies" at the top. You have to show that you do not have any money leftover after providing for necessary expenses after you stop paying your bills. If you have money left over, then you may have to go into a Chapter 13.