What happens if I get a good job after filing, but prior to discharge?

[sojumbly]

I'm currently unemployed and preparing to file for ch. 7. I can pass the means test now, but does anyone know what would happen if I get a high paying job after filing?

I have a perfect credit history now, and it would be horrible to file and then get denied.. left stuck with a bankruptcy on my record and no discharge.

[LadyInTheRed]

Your bankruptcy petition is a snap shot of your situation at the time you file. Your eligibility for Chap 7 is based on that snap shot. Unless you already have the job at the time you file, it is irrelevant.

[sojumbly]

Thanks Lady.

If one got a high paying job a month before filing, and still passed the means test, he may still have a problem because his or her current income would be taken into account, right? (I read somewhere that the means test isn't the only income-related factor.

[LadyInTheRed]

Thanks Lady.

If one got a high paying job a month before filing, and still passed the means test, he may still have a problem because his or her current income would be taken into account, right? (I read somewhere that the means test isn't the only income-related factor.

In that case, the debtor would pass the means test, but would be vulnerable to an objection to a Chap 7 discharge based on the totality of circumstances if Schedules I/J show enough disposable income to fund a Chap 13 plan. In this kind of situation, if the person's income we below median in the 6 months before filing, even with the one month of higher income, they should file quickly so that their Chap 13 commitment period would be 36 months instead of 60.