means test exemptions

[busbis]

Can anyone tell me where I can find where if the majority of your dedt is "non consumer" debt (such as investment property) you are exempt from the means test regardless of income or expenses. I have talked to 3 atty's and none of them seem to know what I am talking about. We do not qualify for a 7 due to our income so the attys are suggesting the 13. HHM has mentioned this before in other threads, but I can't seem to find anything to give our atty. Also I'm not sure if disposable income is a factor because if so, our disposable is a postive $2200 per month (this is after the surrender of 2 condos).

As always, your help is much appreciated.

[ssdsco]

I can't answer your direct question but if it was me I'd call around until I found an attorney that does Chapter 7's with mostly "non consumer" debt.

Giving this info to the attorney's you already contacted might be just the beginning of the training you'll need to do.

[uofaguy]

Busbis - I provided a link to the DOJ's Trustee Handbook here that describes biz debt vs. consumer debt: http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=18900

See Ch. 6, Section F in the 3/2006 handbook.

I too had to explain this to some attorneys and that was enough for me to know I wasn't going to use their services. You should find an attorney that specializes in business BK. Others have suggested you might want to call a couple of the trustees in your area (if they are attorneys) to see if they will represent you. I like this idea of going directly to the source. I also had good luck going through my State Bar and getting a list of certified bankruptcy specialists - as they typically had a lot of experience.

By the way, it sounds like I am in the same boat as you. After I include every possible expense I can imagine on my Schedule J, I still have a large amount of disposable income left over and that is why the attorneys are telling me that even though the means test does not apply, I still will be forced to a Ch. 7.

Good luck & please keep us posted as to what you learn.

[busbis]

Thanks uofaguy. I do have an appt tomorrow with another high profiled bk atty in our area. When I spoke to him about the "non consumer" debt and avoiding the means test, he said he will still have to see what my disposable income is. He said some jurisdictions still do not allow more than $100 disposable income. I'm not sure if that's true, but just going off what he said. He did say that the trustee has dismissed cases for not having the debtor pass the means test. I guess we will see tomorrow. I will keep you posted on what he says.

I looked on the link you provided. Can you point me in the direction. I can't find anything that looks like what I am needing.

Keep me posted with you as well.

[uofaguy]

Here is the link to the DOJ's site: http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/private_...ary/chapter07/

There are a couple of handbooks posted. You want the top one (March 2006). I downloaded the WordPerfect (.wpd) version, as Microsoft Word can open the file. Scroll through the handbook to Chapter 6, Section F and it talks about biz debt and cites some court cases.

Send me a private message with your email address if you can't find it & I'll email it to you. Thanks.