You may have heard that you need to provide your lawyer with six months of paycheck stubs (advices of payment) if you want to file a bankruptcy case. While most persons will end up doing so, the actual legal requirement is not that stringent.
The bankruptcy law requires, in section 521(a)(1)(B)(iv), that you file with [...]

An above-median income Chapter 7 debtor must pass the Means Test to avoid a mandatory five year Chapter 13 case. The Means Test takes the debtor’s income, subtracts IRS-allowed expenses and secured debt payments, and forces a Chapter 13 filing if the difference can pay a sufficient amount of debt. Here’s a short list of [...]

In my last blog, I touched on how Bankruptcy was a “snapshot” in time wherein all information on the bankruptcy petition must be accurate as of the date your bankruptcy petition is actually filed. In this blog, the ramifications of filing a month later is explored. We take the example of filing in April 08 [...]

With the advent of the new Bankruptcy laws in 2005 came a plethora of new changes and requirements, most of which require numerous substantiating documents which also coincide with strict time frames. Failing to supply such documents and/or abide by the new time frames might mean something as slight as continuation of your case to [...]

The Southern District Bankruptcy Court of Illinois sits along the east bank of the Mighty Mississippi River from a spot just north of St. Louis, Missouri to the southern most point in Illinois. Across the river and far across the state of Missouri is the Western District Bankruptcy Court of Missouri. Geography aside, [...]

The one thing I really want my Bankruptcy Clients to do is be upfront about personal issues. For example, when analyzing means testing data, it became apparent that several clients had substantial income that was unaccounted for. Money was disappearing out the budget each month that could or should be available [...]

Some of the categories of expense on the bankruptcy means test form (Form B22A for chapter 7, Form B22C for chapter 13) are “special.” This is because unlike the categories which use an IRS standard allowance to determine one of your household living expenses, the “special” categories use the actual expenses you incur for [...]

One of the changes which became effective January 1, 2008, for the bankruptcy “means test” concerns expenses for health care.  Lines 19B and 31 of Form B22 (chapter 7), and lines 24B and 36 of Form B22C (chapter 13), now constitute a two-part listing for health care expenses, including a minimum allowance you are entitled to [...]

Over the past few years, I find that I receive a lot of questions about the median income part of the means test. Here is an example of a question that I recently received through my Atlanta bankruptcy blog:
We are trying to determine if my unemployed wife can file a Chapter 7 BK on [...]

The Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act, H.R. 5138, was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 28, 2008. This bill, if passed in its present form, would amend the Bankruptcy Code is several different ways.
Before we begin analyzing the bill and the changes that could be made to the Bankruptcy Code, it is important [...]