Most people who want to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy have to pass the “means test.” The idea behind the means test is that people who have the ability to pay back their debts, or who could partially pay back their debts if they set up a special payment plan (in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy), shouldn’t be allowed to have their debts wiped out (“discharged”) in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

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What the means test looks at is