How much did you pay to file?

[jetsfan2010]

I have spoken to some who have filed a 13 this year, and depending on the firm they used(and ideally their situation) the cost they paid upfront ranged from little(350-400)
all the way up to extreme (1400).

[momofthree]

There are MANY of these threads around here if you do a search. You'll find that $1400 isn't extreme at all.

We paid $1500 up front with $2150-ish in the plan.

[NoTomatoCan]

I have spoken to some who have filed a 13 this year, and depending on the firm they used(and ideally their situation) the cost they paid upfront ranged from little(350-400)
all the way up to extreme (1400).

Those numbers are pretty low. Upfront costs of $1,400 are probably normal (maybe even a little low). $1,400 is definitely not "extreme" though.

Do some searches on this forum and you will see this topic discussed plenty. As you will discover, there is no right answer. There is an attorney for every budget and situation.

Ultimately you need to find an attorney who will be a good advocate for you and your specific case. Cost, while an important factor, should only be one consideration.


LOL - Momofthree beat me to the punch!

[jcj112562]

$274.00 to file...but then again, my attorney has a fool for a client.

John

[jetsfan2010]

thanks for the feedback guys. do they base the fee they charge on your NDI? seems to me if they are gonna give you a 13 payment in the 400-500 range, charging you 3x the amount to file seems high.

[momofthree]

You're paying for a service. The value of that service doesn't change based on your dmi. If that were the case, we shouldn't have had to pay attorney fees at all, we had/have negative dmi, lol. As it is, our poor attorney only gets $40 a month from our plan and won't be paid off until we make our last plan payment!

[Protected]

I understand price is important, but you should not choose an attorney based upon price alone. I met with a bargain attorney and I was really turned off with him. He was wearing jeans and his office was small, disorganized, and run down looking. I was thinking if this guy supposedly knows what he is doing why does he and his office look like a mess?

[jetsfan2010]

Interesting points..
I agree you are paying for a service, but while some attorneys charge more up front than others, is there an actual cap on the most an attorney can charge you?

[majorbk]

We were lucky. My husband and I paid $1200 in total (including court fees). We were blessed because everyone we seen wanted $2200+ and the court fees for couples.

[NoTomatoCan]

Interesting points..
I agree you are paying for a service, but while some attorneys charge more up front than others, is there an actual cap on the most an attorney can charge you?

Yes (well, sort of). Each district typically lays out an upper limit of how much an attorney can charge. However, if you have a particularly complex case, or have other particulars about your case that require additional work the attorney can always present a fee application and request a higher payment.

Really, unless you have 0% going to unsecured, it shouldn't matter how much your attorney charges if it is being paid through the plan. I would much rather my attorney get paid than my unsecured creditors

[NoTomatoCan]

We were lucky. My husband and I paid $1200 in total (including court fees). We were blessed because everyone we seen wanted $2200+ and the court fees for couples.

$1,200 for a CH13? That seems very low - is the attorney being paid through the plan as well? Or was that for a CH7? Big difference.

[MSbklawyer]

Interesting points..
I agree you are paying for a service, but while some attorneys charge more up front than others, is there an actual cap on the most an attorney can charge you?

It's called a "no look" fee that is set by the court. As long as the attorney stays at or below the "no look" limit, he doesn't have to substantiate the reasonableness of the fee with the court by providing time sheets and copy counts and postage expenses and mileage epenses and all of that bookkeeping hassle. But the attorney is free to charge whatever he and the client agree to (within the bounds of the ethics rules which require the fee to be 'reasonable') but he will have to get the fee approved by the court.

[FishersMike]

There are MANY of these threads around here if you do a search. You'll find that $1400 isn't extreme at all.

We paid $1500 up front with $2150-ish in the plan.

I agree with this - this is EXACTLY the same I paid -- and then I had to pay the filing fee myself too.

[jetsfan2010]

I got charged 1200 up front to file and the remainder(1500) will be paid over the life of the plan. A former neighbor of mine paid 500 upfront and 1000 remainder. I guess you get what you pay for.

[Okieblue]

Just found out the guy I was going to use is going to charge a third more upfront now and has also started charging a thousand more. Still going to use him though. They won't discuss what my plan payment may be til they are paid in full though. Come on payday. So they want a thousand upfront and 3500 in the plan.