Preparation is the key for success when filing bankruptcy in Florida. The best bankruptcy cases go unnoticed as debtors glide through the system without attracting attention to receive a full discharges in record time. Luck is not involved. Planning began months before filing.
The most successful filers know something that you don’t. Small lifestyle changes may alter means test income and expenses before filing. Well-planned strategic changes will have a dramatic effect on the results of the means test. With a few weeks or months to plan, creating $300 improvement on the bankruptcy means test calculation will save $18,000 in wasted Chapter 13 payments. Just as easily, many people avoid Chapter 13 altogether and may file Chapter 7 when understanding the test procedure. Timing is critical.
2010 Bankruptcy Strategies and the Means Test Explained
Fla.Stat. Sec. 222.16 Wages or unemployment compensation payments so paid not subject to administration.--Any wages, travel expenses, or unemployment compensation payments so paid under the authority of s. 222.15 shall not be considered as assets of the estate and subject to administration; provided, however, that the travel expenses so exempted from administration shall not exceed the sum of $300.
All current wages are exempt and may be retained in either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. In practice, retaining status as wages for purpose of cash exemptions may be difficult for more than 30 days. Assume that wages convert to savings at some future date, which are not covered by the statute. Also, commingling current wages with savings or other accounts may destroy the application of this exemption. Creditors may file objections and, after notice and hearing, request the court to set aside all non-conforming exemptions. Many debtors use savings and other non-exempt assets to pay regular monthly expenses just before filing.
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