Currently unemployed - What would you put down for Schedule I income - and WHY?

[gman]

It seems that up until June of this year, some bankruptcy districts would simply take the 6-month average (based on the Means Test) while others would do a "forward looking" approach based on a debtor's current salary, unemployment income, etc. - depending on their situation on the date that the debtor files.

Now we have a Supreme Court case (Lenning) that settled this issue and allows for "forward looking" income on Schedule I.

Source: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-998.ZO.html

Quote: "..when a bankruptcy court calculates a debtor’s projected disposable income, the court may account for changes in the debtor’s income or expenses that are known or virtually certain at the time of confirmation."

So - let's say that a debtor is currently unemployed and only receiving unemployment income.

Would that debtor put their last 6 months average income on the Means Test and their current unemployment income on Schedule I???

This could obviously lead to very different numbers for income on the Means Test vs. Schedule I.

What would you do - and why?

[ccsjoe]

gman, according to my attorney, we used forward looking projected income on our Schedule I. Why? Because my wife has a side project from her current job that will begin next month and will be paying her an extra XX in the form of overtime for at least one year, hence we added that on top of our current paystubs used for the means test. So our DMI varies from means to I vs J, we're DMI positive on means by almost $2 and DMI positive on J by almost $80.

[skweakalee]

*1Would that debtor put their last 6 months average income on the Means Test and their current unemployment income on Schedule I???

*2This could obviously lead to very different numbers for income on the Means Test vs. Schedule I.

*3What would you do - and why?

1) Yes, that's what I would do, that is what Schedule I and the Means Test say to do.

2) Yes, it could.

3) I would list the information accurately, full and honest disclosure is always the best policy. If I were thinking of filing Chapter 7, and the old income put me above the median family income for my state, I could just wait a few months for my average income to dip to below the median family income. If I were filing CH13, I would just base my plan payments off of Schedule I instead of means test.

From what I understand, the trustee/court look at the means test first, as a baseline for plan payments under Ch13. So it may be a good idea to substitute your schedule I income for box 3 on the means test and then take off all the expenses to see where you're at. If I proposed plan payments at that amount, I don't know how the trustee would fight it. Any ideas?