Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

The question of what may and may not be included as a marital adjustment in means testing depends, to a degree, on the Court in which you are filing. There is some split in different jurisdictions as to what is and is not appropriate for this deduction. In short, a good rule of thumb is any expenses that your non-filing spouse pays that do not contribute to maintenance of the household. The basic idea is that all of your non-filing spouse's income is available to "the household" for purposes of paying household expenses, and therefore must be included except to the extent that the non-filing spouse's income must be used to pay expenses that do not benefit the household (an example would be a student loan from prior to the marriage). That money your non-filing spouse must put out each month that limits what is available to the household is the extent of the marital adjustment. Expect that no matter what you put in there, the Trustee and the US Trustee will certainly question those amounts, and in some cases may object. There are several good articles available on the internet about this topic, so I would suggest you do some research about the practice in your area.

I would also be very careful about "non-community" assets. You had better be prepared to prove to the Trustee that these assets are not community assets, and that you have no legal or equitable interest in them whatsoever. The rules governing community property are fairly complex, and while you two may consider certain assets to be non-community assets, be sure you are prepared to defend that position with legal arguments. I would suggest, on those two issues alone, you need to consult with a qualified bankruptcy attorney, and not attempt this on your own (if you are so intending), as these are two areas I see people get into trouble with some degree of frequency.

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