Strange Days: Means Test Numbers Don’t Make Sense
By Karen Oakes, Southern Oregon Bankruptcy Attorney on Mar 21, 2009 in Bankruptcy Cases & Legislation, Bankruptcy Practice and Procedure, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Means Testing
Consumer bankruptcy debtors must complete a series of calcuations based on their median income from the six months prior to bankruptcy– in order to complete one of two forms, either Form 22A for Chapter 7 debtors or Form 22C for Chapter 13 debtors, using standards supplied originally by the IRS/Census Bureau. Those standards were recently updated by the United States Trustee Program.
The “standards”, often a source of controversy, continue to be problematic. For example, the new standards, effective March 15, 2009, offer allowances for 1-4 person households. The housekeeping expenses are more for a two-person household than a three-person household. Hmmm…..is this because the consumer is expected to shop in bulk and therefore save money? Or was no one paying attention?
The chart is below:
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