If you file chapter 7, you need to complete Form 22A, the Statement of Current Monthly Income and Means Test Calculation. But if you file a chapter 13, and then convert the case to chapter 7 are you still obligated to file the Means Test form? A Massachusetts Bankruptcy Judge has ruled on this important issue (In re Guarin, 09-42294 JBR).
The debtors argued that they should not be required to file a chapter 7 means test because the bankruptcy code (Section 707(b)) applies only to those cases that were filed under that chapter. Only a handful of cases nationwide have ruled on the question, but the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court in Worcester was persuaded by a 2007 decision out of the State of New Jersey. It’s important to note that this ruling disagrees with a Rhode Island Bankruptcy Court decision which identifying reasons for requiring a means test in converted cases.
Whether this ruling will apply to your case will ultimately depend on the facts of the case, and for now, the Court that your case is assigned to.
Related posts:
- Debtor Can’t Reopen Case to Enforce Discharge. Yet.
- Top Ten Reasons to Hire an Attorney for Your Chapter 13 Case
- When You Discover that You Are a Creditor in a Bankruptcy Case…
- Pro Se Perils: When a Case Gets Dismissed
- Worcester Foreclosure Rates Way, Way Up
Tags: Means Test
[...] Means Test Not Required in Converted Case [...]