question about the means tests

[B65]

Ok Lawyer has filed us as a household of 5 because 2 older girls are our dependants on IRS 2 full time college students. this puts us under around 25k median. even as a household of 4 this puts us under median. My question is,
the income he has listed for the 6 months before filing is only $2900 over the median income for a family of 3 (we have an young child too) would this fly on a means test if we had to refile for a houseold of 3? as in if you are only just over does the means test normally work?

B

[happy_ira]

If you are under Median, you do not fill out the remainder of Means Test.

If you are over Median (as many, many people are), you fill out the rest of Means Test with line items for expenses and deductions. At the very end of the Means Test, it *tests* whether or not you are below the threshold to qualify for chapter 7.

Based on what you described, for a family of 5 (which by the way seems correct if they are your dependents for tax purposes!), you wont even have to fill out the second part of Means Test. Will Trustee ask you to go fill it out for a family of 3 by taking off the older 2 kids. I dont think so. Sounds like a long shot. But, even if hypothetically s/he did, if you are *barely* over the Median, then alllllll those line items on the rest of Means Test will be in yoru favor and you sound like you'd be well below and yes, would qualify. Make sense?