Topeka's Only Consumer Bankruptcy Law Specialists Now Helping Borrowers with Federal Student Loans
Free web videos on about filing for bankruptcy are now available on the federal court website:
EDITOR UPDATE: This post is out of date. Judge Karlin reverted to her original ruling in In re Law after the Pearson decision was vacated. This issue is currently pending the the U.S. Court for the Tenth Circuit so we should have a binding ruling soon. December 13, 2009.
Topeka Bankruptcy Judge Janice Miller Karlin announced last week that she is reversing course and will follow the Pearson decision to allow debtors a means test deduction for ownership of a car without a debt against it.
Judge Karlin had earlier disallowed the car ownership deduction in In re Law, 2008 WL 1867971 (Bankr. D. Kan. 2008), following the decision by Kansas District Court Judge John W. Lungstrum in Wieland v. Thomas, 382 B.R. 793 (D. Kan. March 4, 2008), reversing Judge Robert D. Berger of Kansas City, KS, in In re Thomas, 2007 WL 2903201 (Bankr. D. Kan. Oct. 02, 2007). [Read more…]
It will be a little easier to qualify for bankruptcy relief when the income guidelines used for eligibility increase slightly on October 1. A single Kansas earner will be able to make $894 more per year and qualify for chapter 7 bankruptcy relief. A family of four will be allowed a $2036 more income per year in Kansas.
Here are the “means test” figures now in effect and the figures approved by the U.S. Trustee for bankruptcy cases file on October 1, 2008, or after.
