Bankruptcy: How much does it cost?

Posted in bankruptcy by debt kid on the January 25th, 2008


It costs money to declare bankruptcy. Seems backwards, doesn’t it? You have no money, which is why you’re filing for bankruptcy, yet it costs money to file bankruptcy. There really is not such thing as a free lunch! (and Bankruptcy is no free lunch, let me tell you)

Bankruptcy Costs

The bankruptcy courts have filing fees. Chapter 7’s filing fee is $299, Chapter 13’s filing fee is $274.

Attorney Fees

That’s not so bad, right? Well, hold your horses, that doesn’t include a lawyer! Look, I had enough trouble just filling out the paperwork that my lawyer gave me. I can’t imagine trying to fill out and gather all the necessary paperwork and deal with the trustee all by myself.

When you’re thinking about Bankruptcy, it’s likely you’re very stressed (I know I was…heck, I still am). Most lawyers will have an option to pay their fee in installments. If they don’t….move on.

That said, I wouldn’t recommend the cheapest lawyer in your area either. I’d look for perhaps newly on their own bankruptcy attorney. Often new lawyers will work at a large firm out of Law School for a few years, then strike out on their own practice.

My experience with my lawyer was that although she was younger, she was very experienced (had worked at a large firm for a few years), but not outrageously expensive because her own practice was fairly new. Obviously this is just my two cents, most Bankruptcy attorneys will give you a free initial meeting. Setup 3-4 in a day, and see who you feel most comfortable working with and who is willing to work with your financial situation.

You’re going to end up paying anywhere from $700-$2000 to file Chapter 7, depending on what area of the country you are in. In my opinion having a lawyer severely lowered my stress during this whole process.

You should try to avoid Bankruptcy at all costs!

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I'm 300K in debt. Gulp. I'm 24 and day traded away a fortune. Now I'm trying to crawl back to zero. Why not subscribe to my RSS feed and join me on this journey. You can also subscribe via e-mail. I appreciate tips and feedback! ~ DebtKid

2 Responses to 'Bankruptcy: How much does it cost?'

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  1. Jake Stichler said,

    on January 25th, 2008 at 1:54 am

    …And then you walk in to court and the judge says, “you have all this money to pay for the filing and your attractive young attorney, why can’t you pay your bills instead?” Right?

    :-D Sorry, just thinking of a really crappy scenario (inside a larger crappier scenario).

  2. ZINTRADI said,

    on January 25th, 2008 at 9:21 am

    well, it’s like this with anything…
    just like JW at Weneedtobedebtfree… he had to spend 2500 to get 10000 of debt eliminated from a fine from the state. in the end, money well spent.

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