This Research Guide tackles the following:

• attempts to collect all the cases discussing the calculation of projected disposable income insofar as the discussion is specific to Chapter 13
• review how a court applies § 1325(b) to the numbers generated by the debtor under § 101(10A) and § 707(b)(2)
• collects the cases discussing the treatment of a Chapter 13 debtor’s retirement plan contributions and loan repayments, and those cases determining the classes of unsecured creditors comprehended by Code § 1325(b)(1)(B), requiring a debtor to pay all of his or her projected disposable income to “unsecured creditors” if those creditors are not paid in full.

Robin has graciously allowed me to make this guide available to my readers and visitors. I think you’ll find it a useful tool in your Chapter 13 practice.

Download the guide by clicking here.

What happens when your case is assigned to one of these trustees? Simple - the case is reassigned.

My colleague, Kansas City bankruptcy attorney Rachel Foley, mentions this phenomenon in a recent post on her blog as well - which goes to show that the problem is not limited to New York cases.

In other words - “How do I file for bankruptcy without a lawyer?”

That’s the attitude that a lot of people have.  I know because I see these people in bankruptcy court all the time, sweating as the trustee asks them questions that they don’t understand.  They’re usually honest people who have an honest problem and are looking for a proper solution.  But they’ve bought into the notion that bankruptcy is nothing more than a few basic forms.

Huge mistake.  Bankruptcy isn’t about forms, it’s about protection.  Protection from your creditors, protection for your belongings, and protection from blunders that could cause headaches.

For example, let’s say your brother bought a house a few years ago but his credit was terrible.  He asked you to put the house in your name because your credit was pretty good at the time, and you agreed.  You never put any money into the house, never lived there, and had nothing to do with it.  Last year your brother told you he could qualify for a mortgage, so you turned the house back over to him.

You run into some financial troubles, file for bankruptcy on your own.  The house was never yours so you don’t put it down on the schedules or the Statement of Financial Affairs.

Huge mistake.  Next thing you know, your brother’s getting sued by the bankruptcy trustee and you’re looking at a possible criminal action for failing to disclose your financial transactions properly.

Sure, this may be one of those situations that you’d know better than to handle without a lawyer.  But what about an inheritance from three months ago?  Is it income that needs to be used in calculating your “current monthly income”?  If you have a car that’s ten years old what sort of deductions can you take from your “current monthly income”?

What about a bank account that you have for your elderly parent?  It has your name on it, but it isn’t your money - do you list it?  And if so, where do you list it?

Above all, which type of bankruptcy is right for you?  Chapter 7?  Chapter 13?  Chapter 11?

These situations serve to underscore only some of the many reasons for hiring a lawyer when you file for bankruptcy.  Remember, the cost of a lawyer is undoubtedly far less than the amount of debt at stake.

But that’s the easy part. There are times when your spouse’s name is on a debt and you still want to file alone.

When? Well, when you’re both obligated on a mortgage that is in foreclosure.

In this situation, you probably want to save the house. If so, you want to file alone. The reason is that you will file a Chapter 13, which allows you to repay your arrears over a period of up to five years. But Chapter 13 includes something called the “co-debtor stay” (contained in 11 USC 1301). That means when you file for Chapter 13, anyone else who is obligated on the debt is also protected from further collection action.

So you file for Chapter 13 without your spouse. Things don’t go as well as planned, and the case is dismissed. If you file again within one year then there may be limitations on the automatic stay; even if you do get it extended past the 30 days provided for in the bankruptcy laws for second filings, you run the risk that the judge refuses to do so.

What do you do? Have your spouse file the second case. No problems with a second filing, no potential limitations on the automatic stay, and the case goes forward properly.

This doesn’t work as well in a Chapter 7 because the goal of Chapter 13 is to cure arrears, not to discharge an obligation. In the event that you are looking at Chapter 7 to discharge joint obligations, filing together is a better idea because by filing one case you are consolidating all debts and doing so under a single filing fee. It’s less expensive, easier, and faster.