Cost

[student123]

Can anyone tell me what I should expect to pay for filing chapter 7 BK in Ohio? I've only been to one lawyer so far and he quoted me $1250 for everything. Does this seem reasonable? If I called different lawyers in the area, would they be willing to disclose what they charge?

[FilingOnMyOwn]

would they be willing to disclose what they charge?

They better if they want clients! Why would anyone buy a service not knowing what it costs?

[student123]

Well, I didn't know if it was one of those things where they made you set up an appt to come in and talk about your finances before they released what they charge.

[anonymuse]

Not that you should be out to find the cheapest attorney (this isn't a time to save a few pennies); however, I started asking ahead of time since I was getting some outrageous fees at the end of the consults. Save yourself and them some time and ask ahead of time. Find out if it includes the filing fees. Remember that you will pay approximately an additional $100 for the two classes you need to take.

The lawyer I'm probably going to use is $1500 which includes the $299 fee for filing. On top of that, I need to pay for the two courses.

[aa06a47]

My chapter 13 cost $2289. $1K financed in the plan. This amount would have included the pre-bk certificate, but I already had that. It did include the post bk counseling required, which I have already taken that class.

[SinkingFast]

You can call around and ask attnys offices what they charge. Most will probably tell you over the phone. But,...........

You're gonna want to meet them face to face anyway. Consults are like and interview. You don't go into any real detail at a Consult. The attnys typically ask general questions. What's your income? How much debt? What type? How did you get into debt? Will you surrender or reaffirm assets? Then they tell you basically what they think they can do. Which Ch they can file for you. They'll know better after they run the Means Test.

You get to meet the attny in most cases. Some have their paralegal do that meeting for them. You can ask questions and get answers.

Cheaper is not always better. Especially when it comes to BK. If you're a straight forward, under the Median, no asset case, that's one thing. If your case has many quirks or gray areas at all to it, you're gonna want the best attny money can buy. And you may have to pay more to get what you need to get you the relief you want.

[alh]

My Ch 7 in Ohio was 1500 including filing fees. Was a little bit higher than some others I talked to but it was worth it.

[student123]

Thank you for the responses! Mine actually is a completely straightforward chapter 7. I have no job, live off of student loans...the only thing I need to do is reaffirm on my car. I've been advised that I could handle filing on my own, but I don't feel comfortable taking that chance. So, I will begin attorney shopping!

[student123]

So, I've been making some phone calls and many of the places say, "under the new law, we cannot quote you attorney fees over the phone". Splendid

[anonymuse]

So, I've been making some phone calls and many of the places say, "under the new law, we cannot quote you attorney fees over the phone". Splendid

That's a new one to me! I'd ask if they can give a range.

[student123]

Most of the places I called would not quote me a price over the phone. Instead they said I needed to come in for a consult. The places that did quote their fees were about the same as the lawyer I saw. Is there any web site that lists what people are paying for BK attorneys in the Ohio area?

[anonymuse]

I don't know about Ohio, but you can do a search in here on Ohio and Fees and see what comes up.

The low end for Ch 7 I saw was $800 (but he charged for his initial consult so I didn't see him). High end $3000. Neither of these include court filing fees.

From my experience, if you know the office is in a ritzy downtown location, they have a lot of overhead and will need to pay for that somehow.

I felt most comfortable in a tidy well kept but modest office with a lawyer that wore khakis and a nice shirt than long shiny tables and perfectly tailored suits.

I prefer a lawyer that says "good you understand that and have done your homework" better than one that treats you like you're in kindergarten when you tell them you already understand that part.

Only 1 lawyer I saw actually did the paperwork REQUIRED BY LAW for them during consults--he's the one I'll be going with.

[JeepMom]

We paid $500 to file jointly.

[13inOR]

our 13 was $3500, old law.

[lrprn]

Our 13 (new law) cost $2000 - $500 paid by us to our lawyer when we retained him, $500 more from us to our lawyer right before we finally filed ($269 of this was for the 13 filing fee), and the remaining $1000 will be paid by our trustee to our lawyer through our plan. We filed in Kansas.