RI bankruptcy lawyers have new income guidelines to determine who qualifies for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief.  On November 1, 2012, the US Census figures became effective for all new consumer bankruptcy filings.  Other than for 3-person households, it became slightly more difficult to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief for every other household size in Rhode Island.

Below are the median income figures that I use for my Rhode Island clients who need to file for bankruptcy protection:

• 1 person household $ 45,945 (down from $ 47,798)
• 2 person household $ 60,538 (down from $ 61,506)
• 3 person household $ 75,306 (up from $ 68,909)
• 4 person household $ 82,086 (down from $ 88,990)
• Add $ 7,500 for each additional household member above a 4 person household

As a reminder, these are gross income figures.  To determine whether you qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief, we take your trailing 6 months of gross income from all sources (except Social Security and unemployment benefits), multiply it by two and then compare it to the chart above.

While its easier to qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy with gross income lower than the median, in many cases, you may still qualify with income slightly higher than the median.

Bottom line: Its impossible to forecast whether it will become easier or more difficult to file your Chapter 7 case in the future.  Even if you are not ready to file your case now, I can run an analysis on your family’s income to see if your income is presently low enough to qualify for debt relief.