Can you pass means test and still not qualify for a chapter 7?

[merime]

I talked with an attorney in Dec about a chapter 7. I have about $100,000 in cc debt, in my name only. The attorney was doubtful that I qualified for a chapter 7. No assets but $65,000 equity in a 169,000 house joint owned. I am still married ( in legal way only) and spouse earns $85,000 and I make $ 710 a month. I don't know how he got me to pass. I wonder will it really " fly" or does it look iffy. How often do people pass means test only to be told no. Thank you for helping!! Greatly appreciated!!

[tcreegan]

Hi merime,

doubtful that I qualified for a chapter 7. I don't know how he got me to pass

This does not bode well for a BK attorney, good idea to shop around some more. Set up some consultations, take your financial numbers with you, see what they say. Ask how much of your spouses income will have to be included in your BK, ask how to protect the home equity. Here are some other issues to ask about, the main complaints I see here on the forum:

Communication: phone/email/face-to-face, secretary/paralegal/attorney, turnaround time on responses
Organizaton/work ethic: dot all i's, cross all t's or 'good enough,' document filed ASAP or 'before the deadline'
Competence: know the local trustees, judges, filed cases like yours, up-to-date on relevant court rulings
Retainer/Fee: exactly what is covered, what is extra, what to expect as 'extra'

How often do people pass means test only to be told no.

Passing the means-test but having too much disposable income to stay in a Ch 7 doesn't happen too often. Your post-BK income (schedule I) minus post-BK expenses (schedule J) needs to be under ~150 or so for a Ch 7

The key ingredient for getting into, and staying in a Ch 7 is going to be how much of the 85K spouse income you have to include.

Hope this is helpful,

Tom in Colo