Qualifying for Chapter Seven Bankruptcy
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009One of the most popular questions we get from clients is “do I qualify to file a ch 7 bankruptcy?” While the bankruptcy laws are thought to be accessible to everyone, they can be confounding, and the recent bankruptcy laws have changed how courts determine if someone is entitled to file for ch 7 and ch 13 bankruptcy. Let’s look at who can file a chapter 7 bankruptcy?
Individual – You must be an individual to file ch 7. You can be married or single. You do not have to file with your spouse if you are married. If you are married and filing alone you will have to include your spouse’s income to be considered for your eligibility to file.
Income – The chapter 7 means test will check if you have available income accessible to pay some or all of your debts. You are eligible for a chapter 7 if your income is lower than the state median for a family of your size.
You can still qualify for chapter 7 if your income is higher than the median in your state by showing your living expenses. Your living expenses will then be compared to standard allowances the IRS has ordered for housing, groceries and other normal expenses. If you have other expenses that are needed to live such as special medical needs, these can also be included to lower your disposable income.
If you are left with over $10,000 in disposable income you cannot file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, but if it’s less than $6000 you qualify. If it’s between $6000-10,000 and you can pay at least 25% of your unsecured debt then you do not qualify for ch 7, if you cannot pay at least 25% then you can file chapter 7 bankruptcy. As you can see, the means test is confusing if you have disposable income because your income is higher than the median, so you should discuss your eligibility with a bankruptcy attorney.
Guest Article Provided By: BankruptcyFormProcessing.com where you can find chapter 7 bankruptcy information, and DoItYourselfBankruptcyForms.com where you can find free bankruptcy forms online.