Do we have a chance at Chapter 7?

[PhxGuy520]

[anonymuse]

You need to speak with an attorney to determine what you consider your family size.

In Arizona, if there is one person filing without any dependents the median income is $36,856. If she falls below that, there is not a presumption of abuse.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/bci_data/median_income_table.htm

The other main concern is what her assets are and whether they are exempt.

[PhxGuy520]

You need to speak with an attorney to determine what you consider your family size.

In Arizona, if there is one person filing without any dependents the median income is $36,856. If she falls below that, there is not a presumption of abuse.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/bci_data/median_income_table.htm

The other main concern is what her assets are and whether they are exempt.

The only asset she has is our truck. Its paid off and is really my truck we just put in her name not knowing this was going to happen.

Everything else in the house I bought, TV's, couches, etc...

[PhxGuy520]

You need to speak with an attorney to determine what you consider your family size.

In Arizona, if there is one person filing without any dependents the median income is $36,856. If she falls below that, there is not a presumption of abuse.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/bci_data/median_income_table.htm

The other main concern is what her assets are and whether they are exempt.

Thanks for the reply...

Yeah I know we would ultimately have to speak with any attorney.

So when you say "there is not a presumption of abuse" does that mean there we should not worry to much about the expenses part of the means test? If she falls under the median income chapter 7 is good possibility?

If they consider she is a household of one, she would just fall under unless they look at OT. She has gotten a decent amount of OT as of late that would push her over the median by a little. If she is considered a household of 3 then she is WAY under.

[Minnymouth]

Who has legal custody of the kids for income tax purposes??? This will also determine a lot of things....... expenses especially...... household size, etc. and where she stands on the means test.

[PhxGuy520]

Who has legal custody of the kids for income tax purposes??? This will also determine a lot of things....... expenses especially......

We live together so we have never had to go to court for a legal custody decision. I have claimed the kids the last couple of years because it made more sense tax wise.

[queerguy]

no chance

leave the board now, your just deadbeats fatguy520, by the way, pot friendly is 420

[PhxGuy520]

leave the board now, your just deadbeats fatguy520, by the way, pot friendly is 420

Really it is???? WOW THANKS! 520 is an area code in Arizona mental midget.

[aa06a47]

If she is below the medium income for a family of 1, there shouldn't be any issues. Of course, there is a chance she could lose the truck if it is worth more than the exemption.

[PhxGuy520]

Yeah losing the truck would suck, but it would be the end of the world. Having them garnish 300-400 a month from her paycheck until she pays off 13k would be a lot worse.

Do they look at OT when looking at the median income???? She probably wont get anymore OT the rest of the year.

[SinkingFast]

They look at the previous 6 months of pay stubs.

Unfortunately, if you had a lot of OT during that time period, it's gonna be included in your income for BK purposes. The annualizing income, that is.

But, if you know for sure that no more OT is coming,......... Like the company has announced they are definitely cutting back hours and such,.......... and you can get a statement to that effect in writing, then you can claim an anticipated reduction in income.

[PhxGuy520]

Actually after talking to her again she makes a base of 33k. The median is about 36k for Arizona so I dont think she made enough income to put her over the median income.

I know I asked this before but the answer somewhat confused me. Should we still go through the headache of trying to do the means test or is the fact she is under the median income pretty much make Chapter 7 a slam dunk.

[edwards2]

We filed under the old law and met, for the most part, the criteria for filing Chapter 7 and still had to jump through hoops. I would not say a Chapter 7 Bk is a slam dunk but it appears your girlfriend may qualify for the means test.

[PhxGuy520]

We filed under the old law and met, for the most part, the criteria for filing Chapter 7 and still had to jump through hoops. I would not say a Chapter 7 Bk is a slam dunk but it appears your girlfriend may qualify for the means test.

IF you dont mind could you give me an example of some of the hoops you jumped through?

[anonymuse]

PhxGuy,

It's not all about the means test.

The way the new laws have been discussed in the media, you would think that passing it and being below the median would be a "slam dunk."

If I were a lawyer (which I'm definitely not), I'd be stressing two things. Analysis of income (means test) and analysis of assets (exemptions.)

To simplify cases to apply to the majority (or the majority I perceive), people looking at BK are concerned about whether their income qualifies and whether they can keep their two primary assets for shelter and transportation--home and car. Thus, having an income below the median is only half of the "slam dunk." The other half is proving that the value of your home and car do not push you past the exemption limits for your state. They are going to look for any non-exempt assets to go after.