question about payments

[nojusticehere]

Yes, the means test automatically put the figures in. I just input my wages (gross), taxes, car payment(s) etc.

[SinkingFast]

The Courts are going back and forth on the Means Test and I vs J. Seems they choose which ever gets the desired result. More people paying into Ch 13 rather than a Ch 7 Discharge.

Figuring your car payment for the Means Test,........ You may not get the total monthly payment. You have to amortize forward over 60 months. If you're on the front end of a 5-6 year note, you'll get most or all of what you pay. If you're in the middle or toward the end of your note, you may get very little deduction in that area.

Car payments and Mortgage payments get even more complicated. Some Courts allow for the Debtor/Filer to deduct contractually liable payments even when you intend to surrender your car or home in BK. Other Courts don't.

The Means Test uses Schedules Allowables for expenses. Schedule J uses your real living expenses. The Schedules Allowables may not be the amounts your Court is used to seeing for food, clothes, and in several other areas.

For example,........... We are a family of 6. Our Schedules Allowable for food is $1300/mo. One attny was gonna file us at $600/mo. One attny was gonna file us at $700/mo. Our attny pushed the envelope of our Court and filed us at $850/mo. We have some special diets to deal with is how our attny got the higher $$$ amount.

You could pass the Means Test. No Presumption of Abuse. Using the Schedules Allowables. But once an attny in your area turns to Schedule J using figures the Court where you file is used to seeing,......... Things can change.

So much of how any person's BK goes really depends on the Court you're filing in, the Trustee and/or Judge you draw, even the attny you hire to represent you.