A
debtor's pre-petition conduct is but one element'" and
that bankruptcy courts must look to the totality of the
circumstances in determining a debtor's good faith in filing a
chapter 13 petition and plan.
Other criteria are: (1) the amount of the
proposed payments and the amount of the debtor's surplus; (2)
the debtor's employment history, ability to earn and
likelihood of future increase in income; (3) the probable or
expected duration of the plan; (4) the accuracy of the plan's
statements of the debts, expenses and percentage repayment of
unsecured debt and whether any inaccuracies are an attempt to
mislead the court; (5) the extent of preferential treatment
between classes of creditors; (6) the extent to which secured
claims are modified; (7) the type of debt sought to be
discharged and whether any such debt is non-dischargeable in
Chapter 7; (8) the existence of special circumstances such as
inordinate medical expenses; (9) the frequency with which the
debtor has sought relief under the Bankruptcy Reform Act; (10)
the motivation and sincerity of the debtor in seeking Chapter
13 relief; (11) the burden which the plan's administration
would place upon the trustee; and, (12) whether the debtor is
attempting to abuse the spirit of the Bankruptcy Code.
These factors can be supplemented with: (1)
whether the debtor is attempting to abuse the spirit of the
Bankruptcy Code; (2) that good faith does not necessarily
require substantial repayment of the unsecured claims; (3)
that the fact a debt is non-dischargeable under Chapter 7 does
not make it non-dischargeable under Chapter 13; and (4) the
fact that a debtor seeks to discharge an otherwise
non-dischargeable debt is not, per se, evidence of bad faith
but may be considered as part of the totality of the
circumstances analysis.