Lawyer Fees Upfront.....I didnt have any? Exception?

[bobby125]

I am here in Atlanta Georgia and I used Berry and Associates

I met with them three times before filing, sometimes as long as an hour

They figured out what my payment would be, went through all my records, and they never charged me, until I was ready to file.

Then they only charged me the filing fee (I cant remember what it was)

Then they never charged me again, took it out of the plan

Is this the exception? I always see people paying fees upfront?

And, I promise I am not an employee of their company :-)....but they have been the absolute best.....responsive, etc.

Now my plan is yet to be confirmed, but still they have been the best

Just wondering why they never charged me???

If anyone is in the Atlanta area, use them, they are awesome!

[lrprn]

Great to hear that you've had such a good experience with your law group, bobby! All lawyers charge clients for creating the required bk paperwork, filing fees, and their time. What they charge, how the client pays, and the times for payment often vary quite a bit. Wonderful that you found a bk law group that worked so well financially with your particular situation!

[anonymuse]

It depends on the lawyer. Usually, for Ch 7, they want it all up front. But with a Ch 13, they want at least the filing fees up front and then they can work the rest into your plan.

OK, now I have a question--if for some unknow reason a lawyer did allow a payment plan in a Ch 7, is this considered a priority unsecured debt or given some kind of higher priority?

[miss puff]

OK, now I have a question--if for some unknow reason a lawyer did allow a payment plan in a Ch 7, is this considered a priority unsecured debt or given some kind of higher priority?

Actually, to do a payment plan with a chapter 7 you have to provide a guaranteer (3rd party). Otherwise you could list his services as a debt and have them discharged. I asked all lawyers about this durning our consults as I didn't have approx $1,300 up front. The 3rd party has to sign something in front of a notary public. They get the bill every month and you pay it.

[SinkingFast]

All the attnys here wanted money, in addition to the filing fees, up front.

Ch 13's run $2500-$2800 depending on the attny. Every one wanted $1000 + filing fees up front with the remainder paid in the plan.

There may have been "financing" options available, like Miss P mentioned, but we never discussed them with any attny.

[miss puff]

Actually, to do a payment plan with a chapter 7 you have to provide a guaranteer (3rd party). Otherwise you could list his services as a debt and have them discharged. I asked all lawyers about this durning our consults as I didn't have approx $1,300 up front. The 3rd party has to sign something in front of a notary public. They get the bill every month and you pay it.

I forgot to mention that the filing fees of $299 were paid up front, the rest could be guaranteed by a third party.

[Jman30]

I only had to pay $300 or $400 or something like that up front. Everything else is paid through thr 13.

Of course, the Trustee and lawyer are already paid out. They paid themselves first before paying any of the debt!

[StevieD]

I am in the Atlanta area and also filed Ch. 13. Our payments were also rolled into the plan. We only had to pay the initial filing fees.

P.S. We used Clark & Washington for our process.

[aa06a47]

I live in Missouri, and during my free consults, most attorneys wanted 1/2 of what they charged up front, and the other 1/2 paid in the plan. The cost varied between 2000-2800. I would say the least you pay up front, the better.

[edwards2]

I guess we were one of the lucky ones whose lawyer did not charge us all the fees upfront. We filed a Chapter 7 and had to pay an initial fee(his) of $200 and the filing fee which was $100+. We were billed for the rest but it had to paid when the case was discharged. Still he charged us less than $1000 and our case ended up in a 2004 Exam which should have generated additional fees. While he wasnt the most professional lawyer he got the job done and that is what counts.

[lrprn]

However, I still feel lucky that our Country has these laws.......imagine if they still had debtor's prisons? We'd all be standing around playing cards and trading cigarettes for stuff.

As difficult as your Ch 7 was, Wen (and it certainly was horrible!), if you had been forced to file Ch 13 instead of Ch 7, instead of being discharged and closed on July 25 with the opportunity to start fresh, you would still be paying the trustee every bit of disposable income you have every month until October 2010. That comes darned close to court-enforced debtors prison in my mind. People get a year or two court-ordered probation for much worse crimes, and bk is not even close to a crime. Still, I'm glad for the opportunity to start fresh, even if it will take five years to finally get the chance. (Sour grapes over...now back to our regular programming )

[lrprn]

PS: lrprn, you do know we originally filed a 13, right? but converted only 3 months later -- and get this -- the Trustee actually refunded the money paid into the plan which was NOT supposed to happen.

Wen, I had forgotten about your original 13 - thanks for reminding me. I am really glad for you that you were able to change over to 7 and be discharged. Great that your trustee was an honest one too!

[$$only4ever]

Our total attorney fees were $2k. We had to pay $1250 up front and $750 went into the plan.

[CRRAVOSA]

With a chapter 13, the attorney would have filed a fee disclosure and a fee agreement both which would have detailed what the fee was. Most good lawyers explaint to the client upfront how much the fee is and how it will be paid. By the way attorneys are one of the first to get paid thru the plan.