Confused about household income...

[derp]

I spoke with an attorney today, or rather his paralegal, and I don't understand one thing. They wanted 6 months of paystubs and monthly living expenses... from my girlfriend. She said we are considered a 2 person household, and her income goes into that household income.

My situation is that I live with my girlfriend. The mortgage is in her, and her parents names. I'm not on any of the utilities either, besides the cable/internet/phone bill. I'm looking into filing for bankruptcy solely from my own unsecured, credit card debt. My girlfriend has nothing to do with my CC debt. Her name isn't on anything, and we weren't living together when I applied for these cards.

As we were speaking the attorney poked his head in and said they probably wouldn't need her info in the end, depending on which way they want to go. Since we're not married, it could be looked at as a roommate situation.

I'm worried. By myself I'm well below means. About $15,000 a year below in PA. If I add her in, I'll be about $2,000 over the 2 person median income, at least.

Also, I took out 2 $60 cash advances last month on one of my cards. I've made one payment since then. She said I should make at least 2 more payments on that card (and I may as well pay all 8 of them, since that one is $200 a month) before I stop making payments. That means after I save the money to file it'll be the end of summer, I'll probably be working a lot of overtime to cover vacations, and my girlfriend has to cover at least 6 weeks of maternity leave for one of her co-workers, which means she's going to be working at least 1 extra day a week.

[SMinGA]

My understanding: you don't count her FULL income, only what goes toward household expenses. So the shared items - mortgage, utilities, food, etc.

[derp]

That makes sense. But still, why 6 months of her paystubs, and why tell me her income would count towards a 2 person median when we're not married?

[SMinGA]

That seems to be one of the downsides of spending more time with a paralegal instead of attorney? The paralegal would tend to follow a set procedural path (follow set guidelines, not making a judgment call) while the attorney should be able to assess your case on an individual basis and say 'this is what we need to do for YOUR situation'.

Any chance of getting face time with the attorney - explain that you do not feel comfortable requiring check stubs, financials of your girlfriend? That you do not share full financial access and do not want to risk your relationship and therefore a roof over your head? (Your situation may not be that extreme, but it would be a valid point I think.)