Question: I filed for bancruptcy in September 2009. I am unemployed and my husband is only one working in the family. We are 5 people in the family and our income has to be $3941 per month in order not to avoid paying surplus income,but we had $340 in September, and we have to pay around $35 surplus. My question is, is surplus income going to affect the time for discharge or not, if we have surplus every month and is the new law going to have affect on us, or we are going to follow old law?
Answer: Whether or not you follow the old law or the new law depends on when you filed bankruptcy. The old law applies prior to September 18, 2009; the new surplus income and bankruptcy rules apply after September 18, 2009. Under the new rules if your surplus income, on average, is more than $200 per month, your bankruptcy will be extended for an extra year. If you will be averaging $35 per month in surplus, your bankruptcy will not be extended due to surplus income. You should contact your trustee to determine your exact bankruptcy filing date.