In re Chapman (17-30427)

The husband debtor’s former spouse alleged, inter alia, that the Chapter 13 petition had not been filed in good faith.  11 U.S.C. § 1325(a)(7).  The former spouse argued the debtor had failed to pay certain marital settlement obligations, that the debtor’s and his new spouse’s income and expenses had fluctuated, that they had failed to list in their schedules certain income and expenses, and that they had sent derogatory emails and Facebook postings about the former spouse.    After applying the Kitchens factors and considering the totality of circumstances, the court held that the petition had been filed in good faith and overruled the former spouse’s objection.

The evidence showed that the husband debtor was in the Georgia Air National Guard and had been deployed to Kuwait and Africa, which, upon return, affected his employment status and income.  His current spouse had suffered health problems which affected her income.  There was no showing that any of their expenses were improper or excessive.  Nor did the debtors receive any advantage from any errors or omissions on the schedules.

File: 
Date: 
Thursday, January 17, 2019