Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 7/27/2009

Question
My sister lives with our mother and they are both on the home and auto loan they share and are both considering chapter 7.  question 1. Do they have to file separate? 2. Do they have to count each other on their means test for both income and household size?  They share the cost of different bills. lastly my sister is pregnant does she count this child on the household size.  THANK YOU!

Answer
If the mother and sister each wish to file bankruptcy, yes they would have to file separately.  Only married couples can file jointly.   Whether they are included in the household size on each means test depends on the laws in the circuit where they live.  Most likely, yes.  The income of the non-filing party in a given case would be included in the means test to the extent that person in contributing to the household expenses.  The additional child does not count until he/she is born.   This is a VERY complicated set of questions you've asked, and you really need to have a bankruptcy attorney in the location where the case is to be filed go through a comprehensive consultation to properly answer these questions for each party.

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