MasConcepts Incorporated

My spouse and I filed a joint Chapter 7 earlier this month. I’m looking for perspective from bankruptcy attorneys or people who have dealt with a significant post-filing increase in household income.

My spouse was laid off at the end of 2025 and had been unemployed for roughly 8 months. During that time, she submitted well over 100 applications and had around 20 interviews without receiving an offer.

Before we filed, she had applied for another position and was going through the interview process. The timeline was approximately:

• Early July — applied
• About 10 days later — recruiter phone screen
• Late July — first interview
• Early August — we filed Chapter 7
• 8 days after filing — another/final interview
• 9 days after filing — received the first actual offer

There was no verbal or written offer before we filed, no agreed salary, no start date, and no guarantee she would get the job. The offer is for approximately $110k/year, and she intends to accept it.

Our original Chapter 7 means test was below median and states that no presumption of abuse arises. Our Schedule I also specifically says that my spouse was unemployed but actively searching for full-time employment and that her unemployment benefits were ending soon. So we did disclose that we expected her financial situation could change.

As soon as she received the offer, I contacted our bankruptcy attorney and disclosed it. Our attorney is now recommending that we convert to Chapter 13 because of a potential “presumption of abuse”/ability-to-pay issue.

What concerns me is that the job did not exist as an offer when we filed. My spouse had been legitimately unemployed for months, we disclosed that she was actively looking for work, and she still had another interview after the bankruptcy was filed before receiving the offer.

I do not want to convert to Chapter 13 without understanding whether it is actually necessary. If Chapter 7 truly cannot continue, I would strongly prefer exploring dismissal rather than committing to a multi-year Chapter 13 plan. I am considering getting a second opinion from another local bankruptcy attorney before consenting to conversion.

There is one additional issue that may be relevant. I was injured in a car accident several months before filing and have an uninsured-motorist bodily-injury claim under my own auto policy. It has now settled for approximately $18k gross and should be around $10–11k after attorney fees/costs.

I fully disclosed the accident and personal-injury claim to my bankruptcy law firm. In fact, I have emails from the day we filed where the firm’s case manager asked whether there was a PI claim, I confirmed that there was, provided the insurance company and claim information, identified it as an uninsured-motorist claim, provided my PI attorney’s information, and agreed not to accept a settlement without notifying them.

However, after reviewing my filed petition, I noticed that Schedule A/B appears to have “No” checked under claims against third parties, and I don’t see the PI claim specifically listed on Schedule C. I’m going to ask my attorney about whether those schedules need to be amended.

I’m not trying to hide either development. I’ve disclosed the PI claim and the new employment offer to counsel as soon as they occurred/became relevant.

My questions are mainly:

1. Does a substantial job offer received after filing commonly create grounds to dismiss an otherwise below-median Chapter 7 under the totality-of-the-circumstances/ability-to-pay analysis?
2. Is converting immediately to Chapter 13 a normal recommendation in this situation, or would counsel ordinarily disclose the change and see whether the trustee/U.S. Trustee actually raises an objection?
3. How significant is the fact that Schedule I already disclosed that my unemployed spouse was actively seeking full-time employment?
4. If I don’t consent to Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 ultimately isn’t viable, is seeking dismissal a realistic alternative?
5. Regarding the PI settlement, should I be asking counsel to amend Schedule A/B and Schedule C before the 341 meeting?
6. Would you get a second opinion before consenting to conversion in these circumstances?

I’m not looking for Reddit to replace my attorney. I’m trying to understand whether the recommendation to immediately convert is as clear-cut as it was presented to me before I make a decision that could put us into a Chapter 13 plan for years.