Requirements for Filing

• The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) has added to the workload of each bankruptcy attorney. Now, the bankruptcy attorney has to collect a large amount of documentation before he can even prepare your bankruptcy petition. Among the documentation your bankruptcy attorney will have to keep up with are your pay stubs for the six months prior to the date you plan on filing for bankruptcy, your expenses for food and clothing, expenses for healthcare and expenses for housing and transportation.
  
  

Costs

• The fact that your bankruptcy attorney will need to spend more time on your bankruptcy case has caused the cost of filing for bankruptcy to rise. The filing of a bankruptcy petition with an attorney can cost over $1,000 for a single case. If you and your spouse were to file as individuals, you would both need to pay separate fees for filing bankruptcy and separate attorney’s fees. If you file as a couple rather than as two individuals, you will save money. You will also only need to think about providing the required documentation to your attorney once rather than twice.
  
  

Means Test

• BAPCPA introduced a means test into the bankruptcy process. The means test takes your family income into consideration to determine whether you can file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. If you plan on filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the means test determines the duration of your debt repayment plan. Your bankruptcy attorney will use the documentation that you provided to complete the means test. He will calculate your family income, then will compare it with the median family income for your state to see if you can file for Chapter 7.
  
  

Automatic Stay

• Another advantage of filing for bankruptcy as a married couple rather than as an individual is the automatic stay will protect both spouses rather than only one spouse. The automatic stay prevents your creditors from coming after you if you file a bankruptcy petition. If both spouses signed onto a particular debt but only one spouse files for bankruptcy, the creditor will go after the other spouse to collect on that debt.