I received an email today asking how much I charge for Chapter 7 petitions. Here is my reply:
Typically, a Chapter 7 petition for an individual is $1750 ($1770 for a married couple), all in. By “all in” I am including filing fees, credit counseling fees, debtor education fees, credit report fees and all other expenses and all legal work, including form preparation and representation at the Trustee’s hearing, that go into every single Chapter 7 petition. In other words, whatever fee I quote is what it is actually going to cost you to file. I used to work for a place that quoted stripped down fees, and then pulled a bait and switch when the client came into the office. I thought that was a cruel thing to do to people in financial distress, so I do not do that. Be warned that there are some things that could cause that to rise (usually high income, credit card debt over $100,000, self-employment and gambling blow outs) as these often result in “random audits” by the US Trustee. In most cases, these are not issues, but I would hate to get stuck with a random audit case for $1750, so let me leave myself a little wiggle room. Also, there could be an extraordinary expense to get an asset valued. You will know if these are going to be issues before you hire me.
I am hopeful that you have looked at my website and read what I have to say about payment plans. I really only have two rules about payment plans. The first payment should be at least $200, and I do not file until I am paid in full (although I will be getting your creditors off your back and doing paperwork with you in the mean time). Within these parameters, whatever makes sense to you generally makes sense to me. I understand that very few of my clients have $1750 in the bank, although occasionally I get lucky.