Filing Fee And Attorney Fee

[flower]

What are attorneys charging these days for bankruptcy? What is the filing fee for chapter 7? Can I pay these fees with a credit card? If I had thousands of dollars I wouldn't be bankrupt.

Thanks

[HHM]

Attorney's will not accept payment of fees with a credit card (I think you can probably figure out why).

The filing fee (which is charged by the court) is $299 for a Chapter 7, and $274 for a Chapter 13.

As for attorney fees, for an average chapter 7, under the new law, you are looking at anywhere from $1,200 to $1,700. When a firm quotes a lower price, it is usually "exclusive" (i.e does not include) the filing fee. And the lower priced firms will have very restrictive clauses about what they will and won't do for you. The higher quoted fees generally include the filing fee and will generally be more flexible on handling small issues that may arise in your BK.

[sisterfunkhaus]

It also depends on how messy your case is and how much debt you have. My quotes have varied from $2200 (with filing fee) to $2800 (with filing fee.) We went with the $2800 one because of her reputation. She clearly outlined for us things that she will have to do for us that aren't run-of-the-mill. Having already done lots of research, I already knew we had a whole pile of stuff that could come up. In addition, she fields creditor calls. She says she has almost total success with getting creditor collection calls stopped and with discouraging law suits against clients. This may be standard, but in my last consult, the attny didn't talk about that or offer to do that for us.

Anyway, I think it depends on the simplicity of the case, the size of firm, experience level of attny, and what part of the country you live in.

[flower]

Well, I do not have that amount of money. I guess I will have to use a credit card check now and deposit in my bank to cover the expense when I file after the 90 days. Honestly, I do not have that amount of money and cannot borrow it from anyone. Guess I could sell something. My old upright piano that is about 30 years old.

[BKTango]

The price does vary greatly according to case, and location. Our lawyer, who has been a bk lawyer for 25+ years, and a trustee for a large portion of that is costing us almost $3000 with the filing fee included. That does not include the cost of the counseling, and debt managment class that you have to do. Unfortunately in our area there are only 3 attornies to choose from, the one we have, one that was far less in price, but had a not so great reputation and one we were told to stay away from. So that left us with option A lol. The great thing is that most, like ours will take payments, we had to pay a little up front, which was okay since we were no longer paying the cc's or the DMP, and then the rest is paid out over six months. So before you take that money from your cc and create a potential problem, check with them and see if they have payment plans.

[flower]

I'm just amazed. There is no way that I could pay off those fees in 6 months. I make $4,000 per year due to disabling illness. What a nightmare.

[flower]

Has anyone had any luck with legal aid?

[Grace]

Wouldn't a convenience check fall into the category of "cash advance"? Then you'd have to wait the 70 or 90 days for it to be legit. Have you actually contacted an attorney and discussed a payment plan? I've read that some people here paid in installments over time. I know you say you only make $4,000 a year, but that's not enough to cover food and housing so there must be something else supplementing your income. So if you can't get the money from whoever is supporting you, you should be able to save some money if you stop paying all your credit card bills and loan payments.

[BKTango]

Flower legal aid might be a someone to call to see if they know of any way to help you, I am not sure they themselves will help you but they may know who can. Especially if you have to file pro-se. Also check into having your fees waived. There are instances in hardship cases such as yours where you can file to have your bk fees waived. Again legal aid might point you in the direction for this or someone with more knowledge on this can tell you how to go about this. There is help somewhere out there.

[flower]

Grace I had thought about the convenience check. Would that be okay after 90 days? Also, I will contact legal aid and see if they can point in the direction of someone who can help. I just don't waht to get lowsy help and wind up being sued later.

What do you guys think of working with attorneys over the internet? I'm going to try some of the free on-line consulting first to get my feet wet.
Thanks so much everyone.

[Voltron1978]

You could run into trouble by doing the convenience check. I would ask any friends if they know of a good bk attorney. I am only paying $900 and that includes my fee. Many of the attorneys that I spoke to were willing to work on a payment plan. If your income is only 4k per year, then you definitely should qualify for some free legal help and/or having your filing fees waived. Keep us updated!

[9877donna]

You could run into trouble by doing the convenience check. I would ask any friends if they know of a good bk attorney. I am only paying $900 and that includes my fee. Many of the attorneys that I spoke to were willing to work on a payment plan. If your income is only 4k per year, then you definitely should qualify for some free legal help and/or having your filing fees waived. Keep us updated!

I agree with Voltron.If your an easy no asset case you should be able to find free legal help and get your Filing Fee of $299 waived by the court.Then you'll only have to pay for the filing Certificate and financial management course.
Good luck to you and keep us posted!
Donna

[flower]

Thanks to all of you. What a wonderful resource this board is