Fees

We encourage you to avail yourself of competent legal counsel.  We have over twenty-five years of combined experience in bankruptcy practice and will be happy to assist within your means to provide guidance tailored to your needs.  The primary focus of our practice is consumer and business bankruptcies under Chapters 7 and 13.  Our firm offers you the following:

• Initial Consultation:  One hour of attorney consultation for $100.  You may decide you have better alternatives than bankruptcy.  You will have no further commitment if you decide to delay filing or not file at all.  If you decide to have a non-professional prepare your forms for filing, you will have the benefit of some sound legal advice.
  
  
• Chapter 7 $700 Package (toward which the $100 consultation fee is applied): For a simple and straightforward case (such as those not involving real property or pending litigation with creditors or others), we will prepare your Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition and schedules, appear at your first creditors’ meeting when you are examined by the trustee under oath, and assist you with routine reaffirmation agreements and relief requests involving your creditors.  Thus, with attorney assistance, you may be able to avoid the need to appear before the bankruptcy judge at a later time.  Services under this package will be concluded with the entry of your discharge order.  This usually happens within 90 days following your first meeting with the trustee.
  
  
• Chapter 7 $900 Package (toward which the $100 consultation fee is applied): For more complicated, but still relatively straightforward cases, (such as those involving real property, a home business, property in foreclosure, or representation in a case for which the trustee will administer assets), we will perform the services stated above and continue to serve you until your case closes.
  
  
• Higher Fees and Non-standard Services:  Please note that the fee for a particular case may exceed $900 depending on our estimate of the services that will be required, but you would be advised of this before you agree to hire us and incur any obligation.  We will discuss with you at the initial meeting what is routine and what is not.  None of the flat fee packages include representation in adversary proceedings (bankruptcy lawsuits), evidentiary hearings other than the first meeting with the trustee, and certain other services.  Again, we will advise you regarding whether such additional services will be necessary and, if so, those are billed at our standard hourly rate.
  
  
• Chapter 13 options will be explained to you separately as part of our advice package.  As noted in the “Bankruptcy Options” section, Chapter 13 involves payments by you to your creditors over a three to five year period as part of a repayment plan.  Such cases are more complex, and no standard fee will be quoted.  The amount will be established after consultation, but attorney fees can be paid over time through your chapter 13 plan.
  
  
• Court filing fees are not included in the above recitals.  The fee for a chapter 7 filing is $209, and $194 for a chapter 13.  The rates are periodically adjusted by the court.
  
  
• Creditor representation: As with our debtor clients, we offer an initial one hour consultation for $100 with no further obligation.  Should you choose to engage us to represent you, services will be billed under a standard hourly arrangement (with the rates applicable to each attorney discussed at your consultation) and we will require deposit of an initial retainer.   Estimates for retainers and for the total cost of legal services can be established after consultation.