Can A Trustee Deny a Chapter 7 If You Pass The Means Test by $67.00

[booboo]

I now have ran the numbers as my income for Jan through June are complete and I come under the medium income level for Oregon by a mere $67.00. I have been told that the Trustee can still deny a filing of a chapter 7? If so, how can this be? I will be seeing a attorney next week to file on July 1st.

Very scared and concerned in Oregon. Any help or words of advice would be appreciated.

BooBoo

[JRScott]

No he can't.

However he might look for ways to challenge your claimed expenses so that he can get you to the magic 165 dollars a month to spare to force a 13.

[justbroke]

You stated that you "passed the means test... by $67.00" but then you say that you're under the median-income by $67.00. Which is it?

Being under-the-median only relieves you of needing to complete the entire means test. This should be sufficient to keep you in a Chapter 7. Yes, the Trustee can look at your expenses as well (on Schedule J), but for the most part, being under-the-median is a pass.

What JRScott is writing about is questioning whether your disposable income "Schedule I" less "Schedule J" shows you have a bunch of "extra" (disposable) income left over after paying your expenses. Since you haven't completed those forms yet (you will at the Lawyer's office)... we won't know.

[booboo]

Yes, that is what I meant. I am $67.00 under medium income. No other forms have been filled out yet. So I guess what you are saying is that after I do those other forms for expenses, it will drop the availablle disposable income that the means test is showing?

BooBoo

[justbroke]

So I guess what you are saying is that after I do those other forms for expenses, it will drop the availablle disposable income that the means test is showing?

That is not what I'm specifically saying. You are under the median, so yuo don't complete the entire Means Test, which would have given you a "disposable income" number at the bottom of it. Since you don't complete that part of the Means Test, your attorney and the Trustee will be looking at your Schedule I and Schedule J forms to determine what your "disposable income" is.

Generally speaking, the Means Test "disposable income" and the Schedule I/J "disposable income" are different, albeit only slightly.

The Means Test is a "lookback" of your financial picture 6 months prior to filing. Schedules I and J take a realistic "current" view of your financial picture. Those could be different, and in many cases, they are.

I know this may seem confusing, but you just need to wait to complete the rest of the forms with your attorney. There is a lot of paperwork!

[booboo]

Thank you very much...I will update next week after our appointment.

BooBoo

[debtfreedom]

median income

I had the same concern and will be filing in July as well. My husband and I will be about $100 below the median income for WA state for the past 6 months. My husband got a year end bonus that he received for last year in February. I met with an attorney the other day and he said you could be $1 under the median and still qualify then to be under the median income and not have to do the means test. What you have do though is fill out your expenses, which is what you have actually going out (ie: rent, food, gas, utilities, non reimbursed business expenses, etc). Once he did this, we were $2500 in the hole each month from what we have coming in. He said it is a pretty open and shut Chapter 7 case. I hope that is the case and all goes well. I am so ready to end this nightmare.
Anyway, I hope that was helpful to you.

[booboo]

Oh yes, this has been a nightmare. Have lost 25lbs over the last 3 months over this and we just need it over with.

Thanks for all the support I have received on this forum...all of you are great.

BooBoo

[fyi2]

We are over our state median about 5,000 but after means we were under 300
Then with schedules I & J we are more than 1,200 short each month

with all of those variations I can see why they ask for so many calculations
"the whole picture"