The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently determined that a chapter 7 bankruptcy case can be dismissed if the debtor “avoids repayment of debt without an adequate reason.”  In re Schwartz, No. 15-1416 (7th Cir. August 24, 2015).  The Schwartz family had after-tax income of $9,500 per month.  Rather than using some of that income to pay their debts, however, the Schawartzes filed chapter 7 bankruptcy and continued their pre-petition spending.  The court noted that much of the spending was for non-essential goods and services, such as private school tuition, tickets to Disney World, and monthly payments on a Range Rover.  Although “the Schwartzes didn’t change their standard of living” immediately before filing bankruptcy, neither did they “take it down a peg so that there would be some money for their creditors.”  This was sufficient to deny them a discharge.  The lesson is clear: a chapter 7 bankruptcy case may be dismissed where the debtor is able to pay some portion of his debts but refuses to lower discretionary spending in order to do so.