Type: Amicus
Date: March 8, 2016
Description: Whether the debtor is entitled to a deduction in the amount specified by the IRS Standards or must deduct actual expenses for Housing/Rent and Transportation Ownership.
Result: Voluntarily dismissed, April 5, 2016
Adoption Assistance Benefits Properly Excluded from CMI
The BAP for the Ninth Circuit found that Adoption Assistance payments are “benefits received under the Social Security Act” and were properly excluded from the debtor’s calculation of current monthly income. Adinolfi v. Meyer (In re Adinolfi), 2016 Bankr. LEXIS 173, No. 15-1091 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. Jan. 19, 2016). [Read more…] about Adoption Assistance Benefits Properly Excluded from CMI
Debtor with No Mortgage May Take Housing Expense Deduction
May a bankruptcy debtor with no mortgage payments nonetheless take the deduction for “Local Standards: Housing and Utilities; mortgage/rent expense” when calculating her disposable income on the Means Test? The Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois said, “yes.” In re Currie, No. 14-71331 (Sept. 17, 2015). [Read more…] about Debtor with No Mortgage May Take Housing Expense Deduction
Sale of Assets Results in Disposable Income
Gliding over the crucial question of whether the sale of an asset results in income, a Florida bankruptcy court ordered the debtors, Mr. and Mrs. McMillan, to distribute a portion of their sale proceeds to their creditors as disposable income. In re McMillan, No. 11-5348 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. July 2, 2015). [Read more…] about Sale of Assets Results in Disposable Income
Contributions to Retirement Plan Excluded from CMI
Contributions to an employee retirement plan are to be excluded from the calculation of current monthly income rather than deducted from disposable income in the Means Test. In re Vu, No. 15-41405 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. June 16, 2015). [Read more…] about Contributions to Retirement Plan Excluded from CMI
Child Support Properly Deducted from Means Test
The debtor properly excluded $400.00/month in child support payments from her calculation of disposable income despite deducting child care expenses elsewhere on the means test. Clark v. Brooks (In re Brooks), No. 14-1031 (C.D. Ill. July 21, 2014). [Read more…] about Child Support Properly Deducted from Means Test
Projected Disposable Income Begins with Means Test
When calculating known or virtually certain changes to income or expenses, the starting point is the monthly income as shown on the means test rather than Schedules I and J. Kramer v. Bankowski (In re Kramer), No. 13-37 (B.A.P. 1st Cir. March 3, 2014). [Read more…] about Projected Disposable Income Begins with Means Test
A Couple Cases Concerning Child Care and Confirmation
The expense of the debtor/father’s involvement in scout camp was found not deductible as a necessary expense for the support of the debtor’s dependents. In re Knorr, No. 12-3704, 2013 WL 5550209 (Bankr. M.D. Pa. 2013). [Read more…] about A Couple Cases Concerning Child Care and Confirmation
Student Loan May Be “Special Circumstance” under Section 707(b)(2)(B)(i)
In a fact-specific analysis, the court in In re Bradley found that the debtors’ nondischargeable student loan debt constituted a “special circumstance” that could be used to adjust current monthly income to rebut the presumption of abuse otherwise created by the means test calculation under section 707(b). 2013 WL 4663125 (Bankr. S.D. Ala. Aug. 30, 2013). [Read more…] about Student Loan May Be “Special Circumstance” under Section 707(b)(2)(B)(i)
Ninth Circuit en Banc Decision Overrules Kagenveama
In a blow to debtors, the Ninth Circuit, in an en banc decision, has reversed its position with respect to the applicable commitment period when the debtor has less than or equal to zero disposable income. Danielson v. Flores (In re Flores), No. 11-55452 (9th Cir. Aug. 29, 2013). [Read more…] about Ninth Circuit en Banc Decision Overrules Kagenveama