By Jeff Curl

I have seen my fair share of clients that spent many hours researching bankruptcy before coming in for a consultation.  They come across the numerous articles and blogs about something called the “means test.”  Sometimes they even find online means test calculators where they attempt to plug in their own numbers, but they are not sure if they did it right. 

Let me stop you right there.  I was at a conference recently where I sat in a room with over 1,000 other bankruptcy attorneys.  Judges, trustees and experienced attorneys discussed (and disagreed about) the means test for several hours.  It’s far more complicated than it looks.  The laws constantly change as to what can be deducted as an expense, and what must count as income.  Moreover, local custom and practice varies greatly.  Doing your own online calculation may Continue Reading »