Congress published new bankruptcy laws in 2005 and they produced new bankruptcy forms, including the Means Test in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The means test is supposed to tell the court whether or not you have enough available income left after paying your necessary living expenses to pay at least some amount to your creditors in order to settle your debts, rather than wiping them out. The means test has to be completed along with credit counseling and a personal financial management course.
Your income and expenses are listed on the means test and them compared to norms for your area and family size. If most of your debt is not primarily consumer debt, or you are a disabled veteran “the presumption does not arise”, and you do not have to complete the majority of the form. Presumption of abuse means you could be trying to abuse the system because you actually have sufficient income to pay your debts. Your case can be dismissed or pushed into a ch 13 bankruptcy if the presumption arises and you have adequate income to pay part or all of your debts.
You will list your income on the second part of the means test. You, and possibly your spouse, depending on how you plan on filing bankruptcy, will answer questions on your gross wages, business income, rental/property income, interest/dividends earned, child support, pension and any other income, averaged out for the last 6 months. The third section will determine your average yearly income and compare it to the median family income based on the state you live in, and the size of your family. If you have a higher income than the other families, you must continue filling out the means test, if it is less, then the presumption does not arise.
In part five you will deduct standard expenses for your family based on regional numbers the government has declared as acceptable for your area and family size, including food, clothing, health care, living accommodations and utilities, transportation and other necessary expenses.
In part six the deductions listed in part five are calculated and used to determine how much disposable income you have left over. If you have less than $6575 a year, the presumption does not arise, if you have more than $10,950, the presumption arises, and if you have somewhere inbetween $6576 and $10,949 you must continue with the means test form which compares the amount of unsecured, non-priority debt you have with your disposable income.
The bankruptcy means test is confounding, so conferring with a bankruptcy attorney is always a good choice before decide on filing bankruptcy.
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