How to Calculate for a Bankruptcy in Florida
When pursuing relief via bankruptcy, you need to provide your bankruptcy attorney with a variety of financial documents. Your bankruptcy attorney will use these documents to prepare your bankruptcy case. The bankruptcy attorney uses your income to determine which chapter of bankruptcy you should file; your expenses to determine the amount of disposable income you have; and the value of your property to determine which property you may keep.
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Instructions
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Compare your family income to Florida's median family income. The United States Census Bureau periodically releases median incomes by family size for Florida. Look for the current figures and compare your family income to Florida's median family income (see Resource).
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Determine which chapter of bankruptcy you can file. If your family income falls below Florida's median family income, you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If your family income hovers above Florida's median family income, calculate your monthly disposable income to determine if you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
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Deduct your allowable expenses from your monthly income. This gives you your monthly disposable income. If your monthly disposable income is less than $100, you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If your monthly disposable income is between $100 and $166.66, you may be able to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If your monthly disposable income is $166.67 or more, you cannot file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
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Compare your family income to Florida's median family income if you are filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. If your family income falls under Florida's median family income, your Chapter 13 debt repayment plan will span three years. If your family income hovers above Florida's median family income, your Chapter 13 debt repayment plan will span five years.
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Claim exemptions. If you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you will need to claim all property that Florida allows you to keep. Florida allows you to exempt your home from being sold by a bankruptcy trustee up to an unlimited monetary value. Therefore, as long as your homestead fits within one-half acre in a municipality and 160 acres outside a municipality, you can keep your home. Florida also allows you to keep a motor vehicle up to a monetary value of $1,000. If you are married, you can claim a motor vehicle exemption of $2,000. Therefore, you can only claim your truck or car as exempt if the equity you have in your motor vehicle falls below one of these figures. If not, the bankruptcy trustee may sell your car or truck and use the money in excess of the applicable dollar figure to pay your creditors.
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Tips & Warnings
You should allow an attorney to prepare your case.
If you cannot afford an attorney, try to hire a bankruptcy petition preparer to do your calculations.
Mistakes in your calculations can cause your case to be dismissed.
