We haven't decided on bankruptcy, but we're doing all of our research on every angle possible, so we're filling out all the "homework" paperwork given to us by the lawyer and I also tried to do a "Means Test" online, which left us totally confused.
The test required me to indicate mine and my spouse's gross monthly income - logically. It requires us to indicate monthly mandatory expenses - Household, Health, Paycheck Deductions, etc. It requires us to indicate any "SECURED" debts. But NOWHERE on the test does it allow for you to indicate any "UN-SECURED" debts (which is our biggest problem right now).
I completely understand the logic of looking at "available, disposable income," but if they don't allow for you to indicate "UN-SECURED Debt," then the immediate conclusion is automatically "FAIL for Chapter 7" and forced into Chapter 13. It didn't make sense to us at all and we are so confused.
We're hoping that our lawyer will still answer a few more questions for us (on his dime) before we commit to actually paying a retainer fee and officially filing - which is something I have NOT decided to do yet. We are currently looking at ALL of our budgeting options from every angle, but want to make sure we make an educated decision.
If anyone has any thoughts or previous experience with such things like:
Please feel free to jump in to share.
Thanks so much.
The test required me to indicate mine and my spouse's gross monthly income - logically. It requires us to indicate monthly mandatory expenses - Household, Health, Paycheck Deductions, etc. It requires us to indicate any "SECURED" debts. But NOWHERE on the test does it allow for you to indicate any "UN-SECURED" debts (which is our biggest problem right now).
I completely understand the logic of looking at "available, disposable income," but if they don't allow for you to indicate "UN-SECURED Debt," then the immediate conclusion is automatically "FAIL for Chapter 7" and forced into Chapter 13. It didn't make sense to us at all and we are so confused.
We're hoping that our lawyer will still answer a few more questions for us (on his dime) before we commit to actually paying a retainer fee and officially filing - which is something I have NOT decided to do yet. We are currently looking at ALL of our budgeting options from every angle, but want to make sure we make an educated decision.
If anyone has any thoughts or previous experience with such things like:
- One spouse filing, but not the other
- Filling out Means Tests
- Determining if you qualify for Chapter 7 or 13
Please feel free to jump in to share.
Thanks so much.