Impact of non recurring income on means test

[ZogJones]

My wife and I had our first meeting with an attorney last week. She explained the means test and we talked about Ch 7 and Ch 13. She told us that our annual income is right on the line, that we might qualify for 7, but because I received a bonus at the end of the year it screws up my 6 month average.

To make matters worse, I was on an alternative work schedule and didn't use up all of my holiday bank time. The bank time was paid out in my first paycheck of this year.

Bonus in December + 40 hours of holiday pay = a 6 month average that is way higher than it normally would be.

My question is this, since the bonus was discretionary and there is no guarantee that I will receive it again can it be overlooked? Same with the holiday bank. I'll be working a normal schedule this year and I won't have any opportunity to bank my holiday hours and have them paid out.

[despritfreya]

ALL income during the 6 month window counts regardless of why you got it. If having the bonus and holiday pay screws up your 6 month average so that you do not qualify, you simply need to wait until that month drops off. Now, you could file a bk with the "presumption of abuse" and then litigate with the UST, but my guess is that you can't afford the attorney's fees it will take to defend your position. Best thing is to wait.

Des.

[keepinitreal]

Welcome to BKForum ZogJones!

A lot of us on the board have had to wait to file bankruptcy several months in order to let some income drop out of our 6-month look-back.

It's worth the wait, but still a pain if you're currently getting creditor phone calls and letters.

Try to guesstimate what your gross income will be each month for the rest of 2011 and then determine which 6-months period will have the lowest total income.

The month following that 6-months would be a good time to file. Run it by your attorney of course.

Good luck!