Income is Key Ingredient in Personal Bankruptcy in Indiana

Whenever someone files personal bankruptcy in Indiana, there are "ingredients" that are measured into the mix to help the bankruptcy court decide:

If that person qualifies as a candidate for individual bankruptcy in Indiana
What type of bankruptcy that person qualified for. Depending on the "ingredients" that make up his or her situation, bankruptcy Chapter 7 Indiana might be the best choice, or it could make more sense to file under Chapter 13 bankruptcy law in Indiana.

The three main ingredients in individual bankruptcy in Indiana are income, debt, and assets. As a debt consolidation lawyer offering bankruptcy services in Indiana, I can tell you that if you've never filed bankruptcy in Indiana or been close to someone who has, the term "income" isn't what you thought.

First, as all my colleagues in the four Mark Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices know, "income" is measured by the last six months, but then converted to an annual income figure.

Second, contrary to what you might first think, income includes a whole lot more than the pay you earn - or earned - from a job. Not only are bonuses, overtime pay, and commissions included in income, so are unemployment benefits, child support money you receive, spousal support you get, interest you earn on bank accounts or investment, and income you receive from a business.

Once all those numbers have been added up for the latest six months and multiplied by two to annualize the income figure, it will be compared to the median income in the state of Indiana. To begin the filing of personal bankruptcy in Indiana, this paperwork must be turned in to the bankruptcy court.

In tomorrow's Bankruptcy in Indiana article, I plan to include details from the income form we use in the Zuckerberg bankruptcy law offices. My colleagues the Columbus bankruptcy lawyers reminded me to explain more about how the bills you have to pay are considered by the bankruptcy court along with your income. For today, just know that income is one of the three key ingredients in the bankruptcy mix!