St. John’s Law Student

American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review Staff

 

Recently, in In re Egebjerg, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed, as abusive, a debtor’s chapter 7 petition because it found that the payments owed to the debtor’s 401(k) were not debt and thus, the debtor had excess disposable monthly income.[1] In 2004, the debtor borrowed money from his 401(k) to keep up with financial obligations and personal expenses. To repay the money owed to his 401(k), the debtor had his employer deduct $733.90 from his monthly paycheck. In 2006, the debtor had $31,000 in unsecured consumer debt and filed for chapter 7.[2]