You Can Still File Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

By: Marshall G. Reissman Bankruptcy Attorney in St. Petersburg, Florida at The Reissman Law Group, P.A.
There has been a lot of misinformation on the Internet about folks not being able to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Well I am here to tell you that people can and are filing Chapter 7.
One of the big changes that occurred when Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code in 2005, was requiring debtors seeking to file bankruptcy to file a Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation, commonly referred to as the Means Test. In order to qualify for filing Chapter 7, a debtor’s net income has to fall below the state median income. The Bankruptcy Code utilizes the IRS standards when determining what the state median income is. To determine if a debtor “passes” the Means Test, the starting point is to find the median income for the state the debtor resides in, determine the household size, and analyze the proper deductions that can be taken on the Means Test for a client or prospective debtor. There are many deductions that can be taken on the Means Test including healthcare costs, payments to your mortgage lender, and vehicle expenses. All vehicle deductions on the Means Test are not available to every debtor after a 2011 Supreme Court decision, that you can read about here. If you are considering filing for bankruptcy it is important to hire an experienced bankruptcy attorney who knows what deductions can be taken on the Means Test. Lawyers who are unfamiliar with deductions on the Means Test may mistakenly take deductions that are not allowed, file Chapter 7, and ultimately have the bankruptcy dismissed by the U.S. Trustee for being an above median income debtor.
People still qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The first step in finding out if you qualify is to have an experienced bankruptcy attorney “run” a means test for you. If you are thinking about filing bankruptcy and want to find out if you qualify for Chapter 7, contact us today. I can assist you and determine if you qualify to file Chapter 7, and also explore other options if bankruptcy is not right for you.