Bringing Vehicles into the Means Test Forms
Bringing vehicles into the means test forms video tutorial:
If your client has a vehicle with a loan or lease against it, you can have that vehicle and its monthly payment flow straight into the vehicle section of the means test forms — no retyping. This works on form 122A-2 for Chapter 7 cases and form 122C-2 for Chapter 13 cases.
Overview
The vehicle section of the means test forms asks for up to two vehicles, the creditor for each one, and the average monthly payment. Glade can fill that in for you using the claims you have already entered on Schedule D.
The vehicle section starts out blank on purpose. Glade waits until you tell it to pull the data across, so you stay in control of which vehicles land on the form and when.
How It Works
1. Add the vehicle to the property list
Make sure the vehicle exists on the Master Property List with its category set to Vehicles.
2. Add the Schedule D claim and link it to the vehicle
Add the secured claim for the car loan or lease as a Schedule D claim, then use the asset field on that claim to link it to the vehicle you just added. This link is what tells Glade which car the payment belongs to.
3. Set "Include in means test forms" to Yes
On the claim, find the means test column and set the "Include in means test forms" field to Yes. Only claims set to Yes are eligible to flow through.
4. Open the means test form and run the agent
Go to form 122A-2 (Chapter 7) or 122C-2 (Chapter 13) and scroll to the vehicle section. It will look blank at first. Click the run agent button above the section, then confirm in the dialog that appears.
Your vehicles appear along with the creditor name and average monthly payment for each one.
5. Re-run it any time something changes
If you add another vehicle, change a payment amount, or flip a claim's means test setting, go back to the vehicle section and run it again. Glade replaces what is there with the current data — you do not need to clear the section first.
Key Details
The form holds two vehicles. The means test forms only have space for two, so Glade fills the first two it finds.
You choose which two by using the Yes/No setting. If the client has three or more financed vehicles, set "Include in means test forms" to Yes on only the two you want on the form, and No on the rest.
The vehicle needs a lien. A vehicle owned free and clear will not flow through, because there is no secured claim and no monthly payment to report.
More than one claim on the same car is supported. If a vehicle has two liens against it, both claims come across under that vehicle.
Extra vehicles are not moved elsewhere for you. Any vehicle claim beyond the first two will not be added to the other secured claims section automatically. If you need it reported there, add it by hand.
FAQ
Q: The vehicle section is blank. Is something broken?
A: No — blank is the normal starting state. The data only appears after you run the agent on that section.
Q: I ran it and nothing appeared. What should I check?
A: Check three things on the claim: that it is linked to the vehicle through the asset field, that "Include in means test forms" is set to Yes, and that the linked property is categorized as a vehicle with a lien on it.
Q: Only one of my two cars showed up.
A: The second car's claim most likely has "Include in means test forms" set to No, or it is not linked to the vehicle. Fix the claim, then run the agent again.
Q: Does this work for Chapter 13?
A: Yes. The same setup fills the vehicle section on form 122C-2 for Chapter 13 cases.
Q: Will running the agent again overwrite edits I typed into the form by hand?
A: Yes. Running it replaces the vehicle section with what is currently on your claims, so make corrections on the claim itself rather than on the form.
Q: My client's car is paid off. Should it go on the means test?
A: It will not flow through this way, since there is no secured claim behind it. Handle any ownership or operating expense allowances directly on the form.