Attorney Consult Fee Question

[Bell]

Is 1 hour at $250.00 reasonable? He also practices 2 other areas of law that I may need help in as a 3rd party (I am POA and Co Trustee)

He does RE and Elder Law as well. Will he cover it all in 1 hour at that cost?

[NewPage]

Why is an atty charging you for a consult?

[HHM]

It is not unreasonable, per se, to charge a consult fee, after all, attorney's make money by selling their time and expertise, and you are taking up the attorneys time to meet with him. However, in the BK industry, bankruptcy consultations are typically complimentary.

Unless they attorney is going to do something at the meeting, (i.e. run a means test, or something), and if money is tight, you may want to look elsewhere.

Call the office and find out why he charges a consult fee whereas most BK attorneys don't, and see how he (or his staff) answer. If you are comfortable with answer, meet with him and pay, if not, go some place else.

[sah2]

My attorney offered a free consultation. We went to another attorney (also free consultation) as well, to compare, and ultimately went with the first. He made up for the free consultation with his fee, but all went through, so it was worth it.

[stormy]

My consultation was free; fees for Chapter 7 bankruptcy will be $1500.