A spouse’s income must be reported in a married person’s individual Bankruptcy filing, on the Means Test. But listing income or asset information from the spouse does not give a Trustee free reign to sell off assets.
The Means Test calls for a calculation of the average of all household income for the six month period prior to the month in the case is filed.
If the debtor is married but filing individually, the debtor must include his or her spouse’s income in the calculation.
That does not mean, however, that the Trustee can sell the spouse\’s property; the trustee cannot. The non-filing spouse\’s income must be included to determine whether the filing spouse qualifies for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy under the means test, or if another remedy is required.
For complete forms and instructions on creating a personal bankruptcy filing, see Standard Legal’s Bankruptcy legal forms software.