How does the means test work with estimated expenses?

[JackM678]

What is the name of your state? Texas

I have submitted a request for contact from an attorney, but just wanted to know if anyone knew the answer to this before.

I honestly don't see anyway I'd qualify for a Chapter 7 under the income limit as I am a household of 1 (I had 2 kids, but they didn't count as dependents due to being only a temporary visas, and left early due to homesickness and mental health issues). The problem is, once more bills come in such as additional student loan payments, I don't know if my credit card debt will be manageable. I still have an over 2 grand dental procedure I'm gonna have to pay for as well.

I am a former real estate agent, and I know that they do or used to factor in loans in deferral as 2% of the balance as a monthly expense, which if they did something similar here, I definitely would come close to not having any income left over for the month, because I have a $150 private loan payment, and a 90 thousand dollar balance in deferral from my bachelor's and master's. My income is $74,000 annually, plus I work a part time job at a hotel a couple shifts monthly at 13 bucks an hour. So that's getting to about $6400 monthly, but I calculated that even if I took 3 years to pay off my credit card debt, that is probably a payment of over 700 per month, which I don't know if will be feasible once I have loans to pay back.

I'm not interested in Chapter 13 due to it just doesn't make sense yet at this time to do that.

Expenses out of my control such as rent, car payment, car insurance, internet, phone, and electricity come out to about 2700 dollars monthly combined, but that doesn't factor in food, gas, laundry, and other expenses not included in that, but wouldn't come out to over 3000 dollars, so if they don't count any student loan payments in deferral as a monthly expense, I'm not sure if it would really make sense to even have a consultation, unless of course it's possible to write off random things as monthly work expenses to deduct almost 30 thousand per year from my income, or fudge the numbers and hope they don't find out I lied... Other than that, I don't know what kind of tricks lawyers are able to pull to loophole the system.

 

[adjusterjack]

You make $74,000+ per year and you want to use lies and loopholes to avoid paying your debts.

Wow.

I suggest you fill out the forms honestly and accurately and have a lawyer review them and advise you of your options.

And if Ch 13 is all that's available to you, well, you'll have the next 3 to 5 years to learn financial discipline.

 

[Taxing Matters]

A good bankruptcy lawyer won't tell you to lie about your finances to the court. If the lies are discovered that opens you up to sanctions and possible criminal prosecution. And your bankruptcy action may be tossed out, which would lock you out from filing a Chapter 7 for years. You want to avoid all that. It also could cost your lawyer his/her license to practice law by recommending it. Consult a good bankruptcy lawyer for help. If they've been at it for awhile they'll have seen situations like yours before and can advise you how best to deal with your financial issues. If you need to do a Chapter 13, that still helps you manage the debt and perhaps discharge some of it, getting the creditors off your back. If you are truly stuck in a situation where you won't be able to pay all your bills with your income and expenses, you are going to have to make hard decisions. You might not like the idea of a Chapter 13, but in the end it may be the best way to go. The lawyer you consult can tell you about that. And if the lawyer mentions anything about "fudging" numbers on bankruptcy forms, walk out and find someone else.

 

[JackM678]

I apologize if what I said came out wrong. The lies comment was pure sarcasm. Just my way of asking if there is any other way if the criteria is not met.

The reason I am not interested in Chapter 13 is because it would give me no benefit at this time. I'm not in default on any loans or credit cards. None of my medical debts are on my credit report at this time. A few are several years old and I haven't even heard from them ever again 6 months into the pandemic. I think maybe because they had bigger fish to fry and wanted more bang for their buck and just let it go. In 2-3 more months, I should be able to get all the debt at high interest rates paid off and be down to the ones on no interest payments, but if I decide to consider Chapter 13, it would be in another 14 months or so from now.

Personally, I was in a much better financial situation when I made much less. I'm supposed to make a lot more in only 4 months from now, but history shows that me making more money doesn't result in a better situation, nor does it for a lot of people.

The question more was do deferred student loans make a difference or not, but I guess it is either unclear or that wasn't really the takeaway for people who read my post.