Sookie waits tables in a little town. She's the kind of waitress that knows what you're gonna order before you order. She makes about $4000 a month, give or take. Now, some moonlighting opportunities knock. See, Sookie's a superior judge of character. An area sheriff named, Eric frequently taps her, for reading criminal minds in interrogation. Eric recompenses to the tune of $1000 a gig and Sook averages a gig a month. For the last half year, S's gross income has averaged $5K.

Now, the Census bureau shows that for singletons like our Sookie, the median gross income is just under $4000 (this changes frequently, so don't count on it). That means half the state earns less than she does. Half the state earns more.

Sookie's a woman who is prone to injury. She's a bit of a scrapper, believe it or not, 'cause sometimes the unsavory sort frequents her pub. With no medical insurance and regular rumbles, her hospital bills have piled high. It's a mountain of debt and she calls the Law Office of Asaph Abrams to request a free bankruptcy consultation.

Thing is, in order to presumptively qualify to file for a chapter 7 bankruptcy, her income must be below the median in California. It ain't. (That's affected bad grammar, btw.) So her prospective attorney produces his trusted (generic Staples) calculator and starts crunching the numbers. He takes S's gross income, deducts her necessary taxes, social security and other dues, and subtracts local standard IRS allowances for what she "should" be spending to live.

He then deducts her actual prospective healthcare expenses and some other fact-based figures. Finally, he figures in her mortgage, property tax and home insurance (why the wood and drywall is insured and Sookie isn't, I don't fathom). After taking all those "allowable" deductions from her gross income, her prospective advocate yields the number $100: that's what's supposedly left at month's end for Sookie to pay back her debt. That figure is considered to be negligible. It doesn't justify setting up a chapter 13 payment plan for ol' Sookie, which would have her pay back $6000 over 5 years. Instead, assuming Sookie's actual budget shows no significant balance, she can still do a chapter 7. A chapter 7 typically runs 3 months and when it's done, you've wiped the slate clean of most debt. All it costs is a reasonable attorney fee and a reasonable court filing fee. How much is it? Well, give us a holler and ask. If you're serious, we can get down to business, with one Benjamin down and an excellent end-result in mind.

                   * * *

Sookie pipes up. "What about my house? What about my car? What about my cat?" Ah. Sookie has anticipated the next series of questions. Chapter 7 may involve liquidation. We need to be sure S's home won't go, her car will stay, and her cat (assuming she states an intention to keep it) will not be lost. And that will be a discussion for another day. Ciao.

Note: median income is a fluid figure. You must NOT rely on fictitious blogs to assess your own eligibility to file for bankruptcy. These are illustrative concepts and food for thought; these blogs (like blogs everywhere) are NOT legal advice.