Thanks for visiting and for your interest. My paralegal experience goes back several decades in different areas of law. I came back to bankruptcy as a virtual paralegal shortly after BACPA passed.When you’re working on bankruptcy petitions, it’s inevitable that you’ll eventually run into the question about roommates and their affect on household size for the Means Test. Is a roommate part of the household? What about their income?
This question came up for me in a case some time ago and, after searching the blogs, I found and bookmarked these two posts on the Bankruptcy Law Network . They are written almost a year ago to the day by Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney Chip Parker , but I believe they are still accurate.
Can I Include My Roommate in My Household Size?
Is My Roommate Part of My Household?
On some of the petitions I worked on, I’ve substituted the word roommate for "significant other." Attorney Parker also refers to "housemate."
Some of the bankruptcy software programs will automatically adjust the household count for the Means Test when dependents are entered. Generally, however, you’ll have to override the automatic settings if a roommate is going to be added to the household size, but is not considered a dependent.