Table of six month lookback on income-can someone tell me if this looks right?

[Diesel73L]

As of right now we are over the median income for our area ($7131 per month for a family of three) but our financial situation is changing rapidly. My wife is a teacher so is not receiving any income from her regular job (her district only pays over 10 months) but she is tutoring so she has some income to show from the summer. She will go back for one month and then will go out on maternity leave to have our daughter, as a result, her income will drop dramatically between October and January. In February she will be back at work full time and will earn her regular salary until June. In June however, she knows that she will be laid off as her position is only temporary, so her income will drop dramatically again us unemployment will pay less than half of her normal salary. Using her past income and projected income as well as mine (which is steady, thank God), I created the attached table, looking back every six months at income history and listing the average. The green shaded months indicate that we are under the median. I'm pretty sure I'm doing this correctly, but I just want some reassurance as my nerves aren't exactly steady these days... Also, I'm aware that folks frequently file successfully for CH7 with over median income, but I've tried every which way and we simply don't have enough deductions to get our income down below the median. Crap...well I can't attach the file because Excel is not supported and it keeps telling me the Word file I created is too big? Anyway, it looks as though as of December we can file and would be able to file up until April when her income rises again-then we'd be back down in the doldrums by September. I'm thinking that if we can commit to no cards we could have enough money to file sometime in the early spring.

[btbeme]

It may be important for you to realize that the Means Test is what qualifies you for being able to file Ch 7 - not your income. Walk through the Means Test on Nolo and see what the results say. There are plenty of ways to pass the Means Test even if you are above the median income.

Do the Means Test, then come back with the results and let us help you.

[ValleYum]

What I think the OP is trying to do here is to be under median income so he does not have to do the Means Test and only do a Schedule I and J.

[daylate]

Diesel- Just keep in mind that it is money received not earned when you do your spreadsheet. In other words use the dates paychecks were received not earned. So if your wife stopped work June 30 and received a check for that time in July the money goes in July not June.

Also remember your Schedule I & J which is a post-filing look at your finances. If it is too high could lead to being denied a 7 for totality of circumstances.
Depending on when you file and when your wife goes back to work this could be as important if not more so than the means test/median income. For my two cents, I think you should file as far away from the time your wife is planning on going back to work. If you stop paying your cc's now hopefully you can come up with attorney fees quickly.

[Diesel73L]

What I think the OP is trying to do here is to be under median income so he does not have to do the Means Test and only do a Schedule I and J.

Exactly-I've tried to work the means test every which way and basically the problem that we run into every time is that even after deducting mortgage, student loan payments, car payments, taxes, etc...we still have too much disposable income-which is all going to credit card minimums... ValleYum-I did see your PM and will respond a little later today-thanks!

Diesel- Just keep in mind that it is money received not earned when you do your spreadsheet. In other words use the dates paychecks were received not earned. So if your wife stopped work June 30 and received a check for that time in July the money goes in July not June.

I will double check the dates on the paystubs, but I think we are both always paid the last day of the month and its via direct deposit, so the money is always received the same day.

Also remember your Schedule I & J which is a post-filing look at your finances. If it is too high could lead to being denied a 7 for totality of circumstances. Depending on when you file and when your wife goes back to work this could be as important if not more so than the means test/median income. For my two cents, I think you should file as far away from the time your wife is planning on going back to work. If you stop paying your cc's now hopefully you can come up with attorney fees quickly.

This is part of the reason that I did the chart because I'd like to show it to the attorney. Basically it roughly looks like this:

December - Below median
January - Below median
February - Below median
March - Below median
April - Below median
May - Above median
June - Above median
July - Above median
August - Above median
September (and for the foreseeable future after that) - Below median

So basically by going back to work (as a temporary employee-we can easily produce documentation that her employment ceases in June and that she will not be hired back in the fall) it will give us a four month spike in income and that's it. I suppose we could wait until September 2012 to file-I'm just dreading the collection calls, harassment of my family, co-workers, etc... I know they're not allowed to but we know they all do anyway because let's face it-who is actually going after them? Anyway, curious to hear if anyone else has ever faced similar circumstances.

[newbie2]

Exactly-I've tried to work the means test every which way and basically the problem that we run into every time is that even after deducting mortgage, student loan payments, car payments, taxes, etc...we still have too much disposable income-which is all going to credit card minimums... .

Be very careful with how you are calculating the student loan payment. If you are using it as an expense on the schedule J (?) it won't be allowed as it will be deferred during your bankruptcy proceedings.

[Diesel73L]

Be very careful with how you are calculating the student loan payment. If you are using it as an expense on the schedule J (?) it won't be allowed as it will be deferred during your bankruptcy proceedings.

This is exactly why I am hoping to bypass the means test altogether and file during one of the months that we are below median. The question is do we file between December 2011 and April 2012 knowing that there is a temporary (4 month) spike in income coming, or do we wait until my wife gets her walking papers in June of 2012 and will be on unemployment for the foreseeable future?