Define National Standards and Local Standards and explain their significance in the Means Test

What will be an ideal response?


Allowable living expenses are predetermined and have been established by the Bankruptcy Code. When completing the means test, the debtor is allowed to deduct expense amounts according to National and Local Standards. National Standards are monthly expense amounts based on nationwide figures and are considered the allowable living expenses depending on the size of the family. Local Standards are based on the state and county where the debtor lives and will vary from case to case. These amounts may also be found on the U.S. Trustee Program website. When determining amounts for Local Standards, locate the section mentioned previously on the U.S. Trustee Program website and obtain the most current table from the drop-down, state-by-state menu.

Legal Studies & Paralegal

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Alfred serves as both the secretary and paralegal in a two-lawyer law firm. One day, when performing his secretarial duties in the reception area of the office, the telephone rang. In the presence of waiting clients, Alfred said to the party on the telephone, "Yes, Mr. Charles, I know that your AIDS disease can be debilitating, but you can't keep rescheduling your appointments." Alfred has:

a. Violated the rule of confidentiality. b. Spoken the truth. Time is money in this profession. c. Committed UPL. d. Merely repeated common knowledge.

Legal Studies & Paralegal

Why would any employee want to litigate a claim for injury outside theworkers’ compensation system?

A. Because the potential for recovery is much lower than that he or she wouldreceive in the workers’ compensation system. B. Because the potential amount the injured worker would receive is muchhigher than he or she would receive to the workers’ compensation system. C. Because a judge would hear the employee’s claim if it were taken outside the workers’ compensation system, but a jury would hear it if it remained within the workers’ compensation system. D. There are no reasons why an employee would wish to take a workers’ compensation claim outside of the workers’ compensation system.

Legal Studies & Paralegal

Which of the following are true about the Common Law concepts of assault and battery?

a. The assailant must touch the victim for assault to occur. b. The attacker must harm the victim for assault to occur. c. The attacker must take an action that threatens to harm the victim for assault to occur. d. Battery only occurs if the victim is physically harmed. e. C and D only.

Legal Studies & Paralegal

Attorney Anter is a criminal defense lawyer. In the case of Rio, Anter failed to adequately prepare for the case, barely spoke to his client until the trial got under way and failed to properly cross-examine prosecution witnesses. According to the judge who heard the case, Anter should not have put Rio on the witness stand because Rio admitted being a member of a gang which probably helped the

jury decide that he was guilty of being involved in a drive-by shooting. The judge set aside the jury's verdict. Anter: A) may be guilty of negligence depending upon the standard of competence in his community. B) is guilty of negligence for failure to represent Rio competently if his action/inaction fell below the standard of care of the reasonable lawyer under the circumstances. C) is not guilty of negligence because the judge set aside the jury's verdict. D) is guilty of negligence unless he refunds the money he took from the client's family.

Legal Studies & Paralegal