To qualify for a bankruptcy you have to complete a means test. This determines whether you quality for the chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy. It may be that you are the only one that is filing for bankruptcy relief which means your spouse isn’t.
Filing Considerations
This may means that you have to leverage the marital deduction. By doing this it allows you to separate unrelated expenses. Your spouse may have expenses that he or she incurred that were only once or it may be a continuing expense and these may not be related to yourIndiana bankruptcy.
It is really important that your complete the means test as accurately as possible and use it to your benefit. If you have hired a bankruptcy attorney to assist you with your bankruptcy they can guide you as to how to complete the means test. It can be a little confusing especially for married couples where only one of them is claiming bankruptcy. The marital adjustment deduction can help to reduce the gross income of your spouse. This may mean that you may be able to qualify for the chapter 7 bankruptcy and won’t have to use the chapter 13 form of relief.
Both forms of bankruptcies have their own benefits. Which is going to be best for you will depend on your specific financial circumstances. Your legal counsel will explain the benefits of both and which bankruptcy option would be best for you which also depends on which you qualify for.