california means test bankruptcy
CA-bankruptcy ch.13 most basic question?
I am trying to gather information on what my payment would be for a 13, can someone just tell me if this is correct. Basically whatever you don’t pass the means test by (say 1,000) then that is your payment every month for 5 years? (We are a family of 3 in California and way above the median income)
Basically, no, this is not correct. This is how internet rumors about Ch 13 bankruptcy get started.
The required monthly payment in Ch 13 has many different factors to take into account. The alleged “results” of the means test are just one of those factors. Whats more, the means test itself is so complicated that one small study showed that more than half of the licensed bankruptcy attorneys performing the means test for a hypothetical family of 4 failed to take all the deductions to which the debtors were entitled.
And if your debts are not primarily “consumer” debts (for example, if you are self employed and the majority of your debt is business debt) you may not be subject to the means test at all.
And needless to say, the more complex your particular situation is, the less likely it is that “general rules of thumb” will accurately reflect how your particular case actually will play out.
Please, please, please, please PLEASE don’t try to “figure this out yourself.” No matter how smart or how well read you are, you are extremely likely to get it wrong. If you are a high-income debtor then you automatically have a complex (not simple) case.
Make an appointment with the MOST EXPERIENCED bankruptcy attorney you can locate in your area (being careful to avoid “bankruptcy mills” – i.e., places that employ only one attorney and an extremely large staff and file very high volumes of bankruptcies, most of which the attorney may only spend a minute or two reviewing … if that).
What you need is a VERY EXPERIENCED bankruptcy attorney’s undivided attention to your particular case to ensure that you correctly apply every single aspect of the bankruptcy code that you are entitled to use.
In fact – did you know that there has even been a court ruling to the effect that the “means test forms” are wrong? The “means test forms” are just forms — they aren’t the law itself. You need a bankruptcy attorney who is experienced enough with the law itself (not just “the forms”) to know how to best use it to your advantage.
Please note that it is illegal for a paralegal to offer legal advice, file a bankruptcy on your behalf, or represent you at the 341 Meeting (or in any other bankruptcy matter).
Paralegals MAY assist licensed attorneys. Those with independent practices have been prosecuted for practicing law without having been admitted to the bar. Do NOT “use” an independent paralegal to do ANYTHING other than type in information that YOU give them, putting it where YOU tell them to put it (the only thing they are legally allowed to do).
