Schedules I/J. Please tell me what you think.

[jacenty]

Income varies from pay to pay, hence I took total for last 6 months/divided by 6, less taxes (same calculations).
AMI 3,472
House of 1,
will list 2 kids on J, but did not use them for Means Test, since I don't fall under IRS guidelines, ( ex pays majority exp, claims as dependents)
Schedule J
mortgage ( including HOA) 982 ( haven't paid second mortgage in 10 months, in collection currently, BUT... do I add it here, since I intend to retain property) would be add. 300
electric 130
telephone 20
home main.40
food 450
clothing 75
laundry/dry cleaning 50
medical 20
transportation 150 ( 2 tanks a month for personal use, all other, along with a car payment, insurance, maintenance not used here and in means test as my corp pays it)
recreation 50
insurance home 135
life 35
internet 35 ( legal site membership, all other ie: cable, phone line paid by corp)
child support 1000 ( but also pay for sports additional 150/month (horses, volleyball soccer), DO I INCLUDE IT?
ALso HOA on surrendered property will survive BK, 300 ( do i list it, if so which line?
WIthout surrendered HOA, sports, and 2 mortgage
CME 3172, LEFT WITH 300 per month based on absolute strictest calc.
If I add any of the expenses in question I am rosy. But how do I know if the Trustee will object to them?
will the push me to 13?
PLease, I have read some brilliant post here. Enlighten me!!!

[ValleYum]

The weekends are slower here on the Forum. Please don't think folks are ignoring you.

I will attempt to give you my thoughts here! Hopefully you will get more soon!!

Median Annual Income for a family of 1 in Florida is $42,053. It looks like you will squeak by under the median income or just be slightly over.

My impressions on your Schedule J are this:

If you have $300 in disposable income at the end of your means test you are headed to a Chapter 13. I believe the latest minimum amount (it changes due to changes in the National Standards) of disposable monthly income that makes a debtor fail the means test is $195.43.

Your food is high for a 1 person family (but overall - when you add personal care, laundry, misc., etc. - the national standards are only exceeded by $10) - but you need to explain that you have kids on w/e, etc,. and hopefully that will fly.

Your home maintenance and medical both seem super low to me. Don't forget medical here means prescriptions, dental and vision and co-pays, too!

Insurance is a good way to legitimately chip away at DMI. Do you have disability insurance? Can you buy more (term) life insurance? You also could lower your deductible on your homeowner's policy. Remember you won't have a credit card to fall back on to cover deductibles in case of a claim.

The surrendered property's HOA, taxes and insurance *seem* like you should be able to claim them, but I honestly have not seen this addressed before. Your attorney should know for sure. I took the liberty of changing the title on the post where you asked this question in hopes you get some good answers.

The sports fees for kids: Are they mentioned as your responsibility in your divorce decree? A local attorney will know how the trustees in your area look at this.

At least this gives you a tiny bit of info, I hope others will chime in soon, too. Have you already hired an attorney?

[jacenty]

Hello ValleYum.
I am having trouble posting reply. Third time is the charm...
Thank you for your reply.
Will work on disability first thing on Monday.
Insurance as well.
Used "legal consumer" web site and with minimum/ allowed deductions I passed means test. What concerns me is the I/J and how it will affect the totality of my circumstances.
Without the second mortgage on my current condo and second HOA( condo that I will surrender), I have positive cash flow on J.
Reading book from Nolo, asking questions on "just answer", get told to include both the second mrtg. as well as HOA( as it survives bk) on surrendered property in my sch. J.
But I hesitate to follow their advice , hence I post here.
Had a atty, highly recommended, who batched my loan mods. Filing pro se. Can I just call trustee and ask? how many months of income to use for schedule J.
Kids sports? They are not in a divorce.
Food is high but I am saving receipts, and still will have more. Med. expenses? I hesitate to list my reading glasses, as I have MSA. Worried that Trustee would tell me to pay from my MSA.
As of January I will start to contribute to MSA again, would this go on Schedule J? ALso son will start wearing braces?
Thank you for your time and reply. I hope there is someone out there with similar questions/answers. I appreciate any input.

[AngelinaCat]

Add a line for 'personal grooming'. We forgot about that until the pre-filing credit counselor looked over our figures, and said: "what about 'personal grooming? Who does your hair?" We hadn't thought of that. Adding that added about another $150.00 annual expense to our list. We don't have anything fancy done, but we have our hair cut about four times a year. We need it more often, but can't afford it. My hair usually cost about $20.00 with a $5.00 tip, and 'Hub's usually was around $13.00 with a similar tip. (I have since learned to cut his. I am a disaster at mine, though! )

[jacenty]

Thank AngelinaCat.
here comes another 20$ in my favor. even have a cashed check to prove it.

[momofthree]

Increase your medical expenses to the IRS standard of $60/mo. Also, are you required to pay 1/2 your kids medical expenses? If so, I'd list another $60/mo. Gas prices are rising and you never know if you might need an extra tank here or there, so I'd up that by $50 or so. I don't think anyone would question a gasoline expense of $200/mo. Ours was nearly $600 a month and didn't get so much as an eyebrow raise (though we are a 2-driver household).

You don't pay for water or natural gas for your home?

[jacenty]

Thanks momofthree!!
Will add to gas expense. Can I increase medical to 60 w/o back-up receipts?
Water paid by HOA. No gas.
Will add my share of kids medical exp. to child support since it is in divorce decree.

[AngelinaCat]

Actually I think you should put in a reasonable amount for utilities, and everything else that is now paid for by way of your company, or other entity--which you have mentioned. After all, should the 'unthinkable' happen, and you are tossed onto the street, you will have to pay for these things one way or the other....

[ValleYum]

I would get an estimate from the ortho with your son's anticipated monthly braces expense so you can claim your portion as a medical (dental) expense.

[Pandora]

Dont forget to add in any medical deductibles that may not be included in the $60 allowed by IRS.

Pets?

Are you in an insurance credit profiling state? If so, then prepare yourself as your rates will probably increase once you file, so adjust accordingly.

$130 for electric? Are you on a monthly budget billing - it seems awfully low.

car maintenance, oil changes, tags?

personal property taxes?

[tobee43]

also, please check your local county site....the median income changes from county to county in florida....during our time when we filed the median income for two in our county was 58k while the next county over was 52k......so make certain you check that out.

also, i don't know where you live, by our electric bill doubled this year! (they said the co got a raise)...just make certain you have covered every single aspect of your expenses!