Sandra was having a great stretch! When she received a $5,000 check from her boyfriend, she was so excited to share an excellent 2012 holiday season with her two children. On January 1st 2013, she picked up a new tenant for her income property who agreed to pay $600 a month, starting immediately. (Considering it only cost her $300 a month to run the place, it seemed like a great deal!) Sandra was so pleased after receiving her monthly $1000 child support check from her ex-husband that she bought a lottery ticket. To cap off a great start to the year, in February, Sandra won $6,000 in her local lottery! Sandra had a great winter!

And then it turned into spring. For poor Sandra, it was all downhill from there. After too many shopping sprees and too much eggnog, Sandra returned to her minimum wage job at the local retail mart in Xenia, Ohio. She consistently worked 160 hours a month, but at $7.25/hour, she barely made ends meet. Even with her winnings, she quickly found herself struggling to pay off her credit card bills and was barely making payments on her phone bill. When her car broke down and she needed to pay a mechanic $1500 to fix her engine, she knew she was going to need some help.

Sandra’s boyfriend suggested that she file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. On July 2nd, Sandra filed for Chapter 7. As soon as she starts the process, she is overwhelmed by the paperwork and can’t figure out the next step. She comes to you to ask if she is even qualified for bankruptcy. She heard that she may not meet the “means test” and she has no idea how to figure out if she is doing the right thing.

Please help Sandra properly fill out the correct form (portions II and III) to determine if she can file for Chapter 7. Please include the form in your response, as well as a brief letter explaining to Sandra how you completed the paperwork and whether or not she qualifies. You do not need to cite to case law to support your conclusions.

Here is a link to the form and a copy of the blank form