The means test is designed to weed out those people who don’t really need to file a chapter 7 in the hopes that more people will have to file a chapter 13 bankruptcy and pay all, or a portion, of their debt back to their creditors through a court ordered repayment plan. Remember, the new bankruptcy law was funded by creditors so it only seems logical that the law would encourage the repayment form of bankruptcy. The actual means test can be quite simple if a debtor is below their median state income. If a debtor is below the median income for their state, the debtor can file a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Debtors who exceed the median income may still be able to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy but they must complete several additional steps in the test that are far more complicated. If a debtor fails the means test, the debtor is not prohibited from filing. However, a debtor who fails the test cannot file a chapter 7.
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