Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 Intake Issues Memo
After the first client meeting and intake questionnaire, before the strategy consultation, to see the issues that drive chapter choice and timing.
The first look at a consumer bankruptcy case decides a lot: which chapter fits, whether the filing should wait, and which facts could create trouble later with the trustee. Those facts are often buried in an intake questionnaire: an income figure near the median, a car paid off to a parent last spring, a tax debt, an asset the client values well below market. Spotting them early protects the client and the attorney.
This prompt gives Claude the district, the exemption scheme, the household size and the median figure you looked up, plus the intake material in delimited tags. It returns an issues memo in the order a consumer bankruptcy lawyer thinks: means-test flags, exemption concerns, prepetition transfers flagged for analysis under the preference and fraudulent-transfer provisions, secured debts and reaffirmation questions, nondischargeability indicators, and a side-by-side list of facts that point toward Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Every fact is quoted, and inconsistencies are marked.
Claude does not calculate the means test, apply exemption dollar amounts or decide whether a transfer is avoidable, and the prompt tells it not to. The attorney must verify the figures, apply current exemption amounts and thresholds, run the means test with proper tools, and make the chapter recommendation. Courts also vary in their expectations around AI use, so check the local rules.
The Prompt
I represent a prospective consumer bankruptcy client and need an issues memo from the intake below before our strategy meeting. District: [DISTRICT]. Exemption scheme likely available or elected: [ELECTED EXEMPTION SCHEME]. Household size: [NUMBER]. Applicable median income figure: [FIGURE FROM CURRENT TABLES, OR "NOT YET CHECKED"]. <intake> [PASTE CLIENT INTAKE QUESTIONNAIRE, INCOME AND EXPENSE NOTES, ASSET LIST, DEBT LIST AND INTERVIEW NOTES] </intake> <documents> [OPTIONAL: PASTE PAY STUBS SUMMARY, BANK STATEMENT NOTES, CREDIT REPORT SUMMARY, TAX RETURN NOTES, LABELED] </documents> Prepare an issues memo with these sections, quoting the intake for every fact: 1. Means-test flags: income sources, irregular income, household composition questions, and whether income appears near or above the median figure I gave. Do not perform the means-test calculation; list what is needed to run it. 2. Asset and exemption concerns: assets that may not be fully protected under [ELECTED EXEMPTION SCHEME], with values as stated by the client, marked [VERIFY EXEMPTION AMOUNT]. 3. Prepetition transfers: payments or transfers to relatives or other insiders, large payments to any creditor, gifts, sales below value, and recent title changes, each with date and amount. Flag them for preference and fraudulent-transfer analysis under 11 U.S.C. §§ 547 and 548 without concluding that any is avoidable. 4. Secured debts: vehicles, home, other collateral; arrears; intent to keep or surrender; reaffirmation and cure questions. 5. Priority and nondischargeable debt indicators: taxes, support obligations, student loans, recent luxury purchases or cash advances. 6. Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13 factors: a two-column list of facts pointing each way. No recommendation. 7. Prior filings, credit counseling status and eligibility questions. 8. Missing documents and questions for the client. Mark every inconsistency in the intake. This is a draft for attorney review; verify every figure, exemption and statutory reference.
Example Output
A quoted issues memo covering means-test flags, exemption concerns, insider and preferential transfers, secured debt decisions, a Chapter 7 versus Chapter 13 factor list and a missing-documents checklist.
Illustrative example — names, figures, and facts are fictional.
INTAKE ISSUES MEMO (DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW) Prospective client: T. and L. Varga | District: [DISTRICT] | Household: 4 | Exemptions: [ELECTED EXEMPTION SCHEME] 1. MEANS-TEST FLAGS Wages: "about $6,100/month combined" (intake, Q12). Overtime: "a lot in the spring" (interview notes). Irregular income may move the six-month average. Need: six months of pay stubs for both spouses. Median figure provided: [FIGURE]. Income appears close; run the calculation before advising. 2. ASSET AND EXEMPTION CONCERNS 2021 pickup, client value "$9,000, no loan" (Q20). [VERIFY EXEMPTION AMOUNT] Inherited coin collection, "maybe $4,000" (notes). Not on asset list. Inconsistency. 3. PREPETITION TRANSFERS (FOR ANALYSIS UNDER 11 U.S.C. §§ 547, 548) March 2026: "$5,500 to my brother to pay back what he lent us" (notes). Insider payment. Flag. June 2026: boat "sold to a friend for $1,000" (Q24). Value unknown. Flag. 4. SECURED DEBTS Mortgage: two payments behind (Q30); clients want to keep the home. Cure questions. Sedan loan: $14,200; intent to keep. Reaffirmation question. 5. PRIORITY / NONDISCHARGEABLE INDICATORS IRS balance for 2024 "around $3,800" (Q33). Need tax transcripts. 6. FACTORS Toward Chapter 7 | Toward Chapter 13 Mostly unsecured card debt | Mortgage arrears clients want to cure No significant equity apart from items in 2 | Income near median; insider payment exposure 7. PRIOR FILINGS AND ELIGIBILITY Prior filings: "no" (Q5) [CONFIRM by court records search]. Credit counseling: not yet completed. 8. MISSING DOCUMENTS Pay stubs (6 months), tax returns (2 years), boat sale records, brother repayment proof, credit counseling certificate status.
Tips
- •Enter the current median income figure for the household size yourself from the official tables; Claude does not run the means test.
- •Ask the client directly about payments to family members and recent transfers. Intake forms routinely miss them, and the memo can only flag what is written down.
- •Insert exemption amounts yourself from the current statute for the elected scheme, since they adjust periodically.
- •Use the two-column factor list as an agenda for the strategy meeting rather than as a recommendation.
- •Remember that some courts restrict or require disclosure of AI use; check local rules and standing orders. The memo is a draft for attorney review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't the prompt run the means test?
The means test depends on current median figures, expense standards and a defined look-back period of income, all of which require exact inputs and current tables. A model is likely to get the arithmetic or the figures wrong. The memo instead flags what affects the result and lists what you need, and you run the calculation with your filing software or official forms.
Can I rely on the memo's list of transfers?
Only as a starting point. Claude finds transfers mentioned in the material you paste, so anything the client did not disclose will not appear. Use the flagged items to drive follow-up questions and bank statement review. Whether any transfer is actually avoidable is a legal judgment for the attorney.
Do bankruptcy courts restrict AI use?
Some courts and judges have issued orders or opinions addressing AI-generated filings, and expectations differ by district. This prompt produces internal work product, not a filing, but you should still check local rules and standing orders, verify every figure and reference, and follow your duties of competence and confidentiality.
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