Not every expenditure that benefits the debtor's household or his family is a household expense. And, if it's not a household expense, it doesn't get added to CMI in a single spouse bankruptcy filing. That's how the marital adjustment should work. But it's not so simple. Household expense is not an expansive definition During a NACBA presentation on challenges where only one spouse files, I wondered why I hadn't seen what my co panelist Billy Brewer made so clear. When only one spouse files bankruptcy, current monthly income includes only that part of the non filer's income contributed to household expenses. With his inimitable drawl, he drew a distinction between expenses associated with running the house, and expenses incurred for the benefit of the family. The later, he argued, are not household expenses. Brewer successfully argued to the bankruptcy court and the district court on appeal in Gregory, that "household expenses" were confined to the … [Continue reading...]
