Portland Bankruptcy Attorney

Bankruptcy Lawyer Portland Or

Portland Bankruptcy Attorney
CALL 503-380-7822
email-iconmap-marker
  • Home
  • Bankruptcy
    • Personal Bankruptcy
    • Business Bankruptcy
    • Zero Down Bankruptcy
    • Foreclosure
    • Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
    • Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
  • Estate Planning
  • About
  • Contact

What Is Your State for the “Means Test”?

March 25, 2016 by Chris Kane

You must use the right “state in which you live” to qualify for Chapter 7. It’s not always obvious.

 

Our last blog post a couple days ago was about the unique definition for “income” as used in the “means test.” Understanding this definition and applying it to your advantage can be crucial for passing the “means test” and qualifying for Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy.” (See that most recent blog post to calculate your own annual “income” amount.)

As we said, the “easiest way to pass the ‘means test’ is for your family ‘income’ to be no greater than the median family income amount for your family size in your state.” And we provided a link to a table of all the median family annual income amounts (effective starting April 1, 2016) for every state and family size.

But as we asked at the end of our last blog post, what if, after going through the steps of calculating your “income,” you’re not sure what state you should pick on the table of median family income amounts? What if you’ve moved recently? What if you have a business operated out of one state but you own a home in another state and live there much of the time? Or what if you’re married but maintain households in two states?

Different State Median Family Income Amounts Can Vary Significantly

If your life straddles two (or more!) states, it can make a big difference which state you use for the “means test.” For example, if you are single without any dependents, the state with the lowest annual “median family income” is Mississippi at $37,590 and the highest is New Jersey at $61,347, more than 63% higher. Or, if you have a family of 4, the lowest is Arkansas at $60,549 and the highest is Massachusetts at $111,595, more than 84% higher.

The Bankruptcy Code Doesn’t Say

For people who have lived and worked in the same state for years, it’s obvious what state they belong to. But if you have either moved recently or have personal or business connections in more than one state, it could be anything but obvious.

Federal bankruptcy law can be quite clear about which state you choose in dealing with other bankruptcy choices.

For example, the state in which you can file bankruptcy is wherever your “domicile, residence, principal place of business… , or principal assets.. .  have been located” for at least 91 days before the filing. (See 28 U.S.C. Section 1408.)

Or you can use a state’s property exemptions to protect your assets usually after 2 years of having your home in that state. (See 11 U.S.C Section 522(b)(3)(A)).

However, when Congress created the “means test” in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, it only said that you compare your “income” to the “median family income of the applicable State.” The statute (11 U.S.C Section 707(b)) does not say anything about how to determine your “applicable State.”

The Bankruptcy Code’s definition of “median family income” (11 U.S.C. Section 101(39A)) does not address this. The phrase “applicable state” is simply nowhere defined by statute.

The “State in Which You Live”

The official bankruptcy form used to determine your “income” for “means test” purposes is called the “Chapter 7 Statement of Your Current Monthly Income,” Form 122A-1. It then has you compare your “income” to the appropriate median family income amount. This form asks you (at question 13) to “[f]ill in the state in which you live.”

The U.S. Trustee’s Office, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, is the major enforcer of the “means test.” One of its tasks is to see whether the above form is completed appropriately. It has put out a “Statement of [It’s] Position on Legal Issues Arising under the Chapter 7 Means Test.” On the issues we’re dealing with here, this Statement says simply that “[a]pplicable state is [the] state of residence at filing.”

What This Means in Practice

The implication of all this seems to be that you should use the median income amount for your family size for the state where you are living at the time your bankruptcy case is filed. It seems that if you are filing bankruptcy in a particular state because that is where you operate a business or it’s where you are domiciled (your permanent home even if you’re not there now), you wouldn’t use that state’s median family income amounts. Rather you can and must use the median family income amounts for the state where you are currently living.

But the law is vague. The U.S. Trustee’s Office’s Statement is only one opinion, even if it’s from an important source. These kinds of vague matters in the law are often left to local practices. These may be formal—local or regional federal court rulings. Or they may be informal—just the way a particular regional U.S. Trustee’s Office or local bankruptcy judge or judges tend to interpret this vague language in the bankruptcy statutes, the “applicable state.”

This is one of the reasons that you need the advice of an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. He or she has spent years, all day every day, immersed in not just the national bankruptcy statutes and rules, but also in nuts-and-bolts-policies and practices of local judges and other players in the system. Since choosing the right state can make the difference between qualifying for the 3-4-month-long Chapter 7 case instead of being stuck in a 3-to-5-year Chapter 13 one, the advice of a lawyer could be extremely valuable here.

 

Filed Under: Bankruptcy Procedure Tagged With: Chapter 7 bankruptcy, means test, median family income, median income, monthly disposable income, U. S. Trustee

Welcome to the Portland Bankruptcy Law Blog

I'd like to help you overcome your financial problems. One good way to start is to provide you with accurate and timely information about the bankruptcy laws. I do that here through informative blog posts, with a new one published here every week. I've been doing this for years so there is a wealth of information for you here.

But please be aware that since you are unique person you need a highly personalized solution to your challenges. That requires the analysis and advice of a conscientious and highly experienced attorney. That's really the only sensible way to get the benefit of the many powerful and effective remedies that the law provides.

So I hope the information provided here is helpful to you. Please contact me for guidance to a much better place:

503-380-7822

Recent Posts

  • No link found between bankruptcy and employment prospects
  • Creditor found in violation of automatic bankruptcy stay
  • What are the short- and long-term credit impacts of bankruptcy?
  • Bankruptcy Attorney Portland, Or | Bankruptcy Lawyer Oregon | Christopher J. Kane P.C.

Categories of Blog Posts

  • Portland Bankruptcy Attorney
  • Personal Bankruptcy
  • Business Bankruptcy
  • Stop Foreclosure
  • Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
  • Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
  • Zero Down Bankruptcy
  • Filing Bankruptcy in Oregon
  • Testimonials
  • FAQ
  • Blog

FREE CONSULTATION

GET A FREE CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION THIS MONTH.
*Please see below.

CONTACT

Christopher J. Kane, P.C.

Address: 2207 NE Broadway, Suite 100, Portland OR 97232

Phone: 503-380-7822

Email: chris@ckanelaw.com


We are a debt relief agency.

We proudly help people understand their options and, if appropriate, help them file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

DIRECTIONS

CONNECT

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
Avvo - Rate your Lawyer. Get Free Legal Advice.
Best Bankruptcy lawyers in Portland
Best Bankruptcy Lawyers in Portland

* Using this form, or email, for communicating with us does not establish an attorney-client relationship, until we do that in writing. So please do not send confidential or time-sensitive information through this form or by email. You affirm that you have read and understand this disclaimer.
CAUTION: This website is to provide visitors with basic information about our firm, and information about how to contact us. Every situation is different, and no information on this website is legal advice on any specific question. You should not act on any of the information without first conferring with an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. No attorney-client relationship or privilege is formed by visiting this site or by unsolicited email. Therefore, initial emails should not contain any confidential information. We may already represent parties adverse to you and cannot advise or represent you until we check for conflicts. We are licensed only in Oregon and offer our services only to those doing business in Oregon, unless we are associated with local counsel in accordance with other states laws. The applicable laws may have changed after the information on this website was published. While effort is made to keep the information current, you should not presume that all information is up to date. You must confer with an attorney to be sure you have current information.
Copyright © 2021 · Christopher J. Kane Attorney at Law · 503-380-7822 · Designed by Artizon Digital