Have less fear of fighting a pack of dogs than tackling Means Test...

[free2breathe]

Even though we are well below median, I completed the above means test just for grins. We are well below the allowed standards in our expenditures. This makes facing the 341 a little easier. According to the means test we have a negative DMI of $172, whereas our Schedule J shows a positive of $15 roughly. The resources on this forum are invaluable, as are the people who share them

[tobee43]

Even though we are well below median, I completed the above means test just for grins. We are well below the allowed standards in our expenditures. This makes facing the 341 a little easier. According to the means test we have a negative DMI of $172, whereas our Schedule J shows a positive of $15 roughly. The resources on this forum are invaluable, as are the people who share them

that's great news!! and now you really can be free to breath a bit easier...i just HAD to say it!! LOL

[free2breathe]

LOL tobee! Thanks ;)

[tobee43]

LOL tobee! Thanks ;)

you really DO make me say these things...really! LOL ...u just leave them wide open and i just can't have an open door staring me in the face...

[free2breathe]

The funniest part is that when I typed that, I had included "I really feel free 2 breathe now", but I took it out. Then you said it and made me laugh. Comic relief is just sometimes so necessary!

[tobee43]

The funniest part is that when I typed that, I had included "I really feel free 2 breathe now", but I took it out. Then you said it and made me laugh. Comic relief is just sometimes so necessary!

we, in this HOUSE...live on it... it truly is the only way to make it thru the day...OH...and a little taste of grey goose always helps as well...

[platter]

I think there's more time spent fretting over this than the actual time it takes to do it. (lol)

I reviewed DH's income and am beginning mine now.

We don't have to include a tax refund, do we, in our 6 month income total?

[platter]

Please see post #22. On 6 month income total, I *don't* include a tax refund since that's not a continual earning?

For the Means Test, I see my monthly income on the online bank acct. I only have one check stub stating my YTD (Year To Date) showing the actual Gross before taxes. That alone would cover me for the time I worked for them, one month. But, I had another monetary amt deposited into my acct from them and now I realize I have NO record of the gross since they didn't email that to me. I know I'm going to have to request. (And I think the last deposit was for mileage and housing whether you used a motel or your personal travel trailer.)

Even though for a couple of deposits from them I only have the net deposit, it would still give me an idea for the Means Test until I receive the correct gross amts. And I could still add a couple thousand to that just to check.


1) After I do the Means Test, is there anywhere else, on any BK form, that I have to write out my monthly gross incomes according to *each month?*
How do they [Trustee] know what your monthly income has been if you have direct deposit and no check stubs? Or missing a few.

2) If you pass the Means Test for Chapter 7, do you have to do the Expense routine? (I thought I read where you don't but said you might want to anyway to see how the judge might view your .....)

[platter]

Rar-rar-rarr! I figured I'd see a snag. Why didn't the previous consultations see that we both were at around $52K even in the month of August. I showed this to them and don't understand why they didn't say I was NOT okay for the annual! (Apparently I'm not going to be okay.) I had the annual typed out as to what we'd made up until August, it's over $52 by a couple thousand and that seems to put me on the sidelines to begin with. I can't believe they didn't say anything about that.

Right now it appears for the six months that I'm going to have to wait until Dec 1st to file because we're at around $32,234 for the past six month for both household of 2. I had a job on the Gulf that paid me a around $12,083 Gross for one month. Then received two more checks for per diem and that was about $1,573.00 Net, not Gross. That Gulf employment is what has really messed me up here and looks like I'll have to wait until December to file so that both of our incomes in May will drop off. (How can one explain that the Gulf employment was over an oil spill and that is not typical of my wage earnings???)

I'm filing individually. Apparently our annual is over the limit, especially after Nov 1st. What do you do in this situation? Is it now where people are dealing with the expenses to help themselves out. I was using the site legalconsumer.com site for the Means Test.

* Now, what did it mean when I've heard it said that they [at consultations] look at *my* past *3* months income although they have the six months income?
* Then in November, there's more employment benefits income for both of us which is going to cancel out $2,000 of what will drop off from the month of May. Not much of a change.

I've been told some of them use different Means Test, how so? What's the freakin' difference? The law is the law according to the numbers they give one to work with, right?

Rar-rar-rarr!


After Nov 1st:
$49,321 is the annual
$24,461 is the 6 month
$4,339.00 is the monthy

[platter]

I realized that I'd made a mistake by including my expense reinbursements into my six month income total. Now I've deducted that error of around $4,100.50 ... and wait one more month for May income to drop off ... I think I'll make it for Chapter 7!

The Means Test, to begin with adding the income, isn't so bad. First step is over and that legalconsumer.com site seems simple and not that threatening. Though at this point, the start of expenses, etc., I need a better understanding and guess that's for another thread.