Three months ago, Janet Hart's husband of twenty years died

of cancer. Although he had medical insurance, he left Janet

with outstanding medical bills of more than $50,000. Janet

has worked at the local library for the past ten years,

earning $1,700 per month. Since her husband's death, Janet

also receives $1,500 in Social Security benefits, and $1,100

in life insurance proceeds every month, giving her a monthly

income of $4,300. After she pays the mortgage payment of

$1,500, and the amounts due on other debts each month, Janet

barely has enough left over to buy groceries for her family

(she has two teenage daughters at home). She decides to file

for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, hoping for a fresh start. Using

the information presented in the chapter, answer the

following questions.

1. Assume that Janet files a petition under Chapter 7.

Further assume that the median family income in the state in

which Janet lives is $49,300. What steps would a court take

to determine whether Janet's petition is presumed to be

"substantial abuse" under the means test?

2. Suppose that the court determines that no presumption of

substantial abuse applies in Janet's case. Nevertheless, the

court finds that Janet does have the ability to pay a

portion of the amount due on the medical bills out of her

disposable income. What would the court likely order in that

situation?