Drowning in debt and looking at CH7

[captk]

I am retired living on Social Security and pension. I reside in Florida. I have about $53,000.00 in debt and cannot make the payments and maintain my living expenses. I am looking at Chapter 7.

[justbroke]

Whether or not you can file for Chapter 7 could hinge on the amount of the pension income. The SSA income is not counted for purposes of performing the so-called Means Test. That means test also looks at your household size, Florida's median income, and other factors to determine Chapter 7 eligibility.

Generally speaking, unless you're single and have a pension over which excess about $4,296/month, you should be able to qualify for a Chapter 7. Be aware that a Chapter 7 is a liquidation, so if you have expensive property (other than your home), you may not be able to protect it in a Chapter 7. For example, if you're protecting a home it would be 100% protected. But, if you protect that home then you'll only have $1,000 to protect a car, and $1,000 for all your furnishings and clothing.