Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy - What Does It Cost?
The cost of declaring bankruptcy is subject to change. During the years it has continuously increased. · The first fee you have to pay is the Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition fee which means an amount of $299. This sum of money is actually divided in three fees: the statutory filing fee of $245, a $15 case trustee fee and a $39 administrative fee. The amount of money you are demanded to pay is allocated among the U.S. Trustee System, the U.S. Treasury and the judiciary. Since the trustee doesn't receive a salary, the Chapter 7 trustee fee is used to pay him. · The second matter you have to take care of is finding and paying an attorney. The fees for this kind of services vary from state to state and from case to case. A research demonstrates that most practitioners charge as little as $600 to $700 for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, up to as much as $3,500. What is for sure is that there is neither a minimum nor a maximum fee for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. In the same time we can notice that most of the times the lawyer's fee for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is lower than for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. · A less expensive fee, mandatory under the new law, is the consumer credit counseling fee. You will have to pay about $50 for the pre-filing credit counseling as well as for the pre-discharge financial education course, although the services must be provided regardless of your ability to pay. This service is offered in person, as well as over the phone or on the Internet. Along with your bankruptcy petition, several schedules of income, assets and debts must be filed by your attorney. In order to complete those schedules, your lawyer is going to ask you some information including a list of your current personal properties, your creditors, the amount that you owe them, the names and addresses of any co-debtors etc; · Once a case is solved and closed, it can be reopened, for example, when a debt was assigned to a different creditor and the debtor didn't know or when a debtor forgets to include a creditor. In order to reopen a case for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy you have to pay a fee of $260 while for chapter 13 cases, the fee is only $235. If the debtor is represented, the attorney Additional attorney fees may be charged if the debtor is represented. · During the process you may want to change from a Chapter 13 to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy which costs $15 or from a Chapter 7 to a Chapter 13 which is free of charge. Usually someone changes from a Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 because he or she didn't have the money to meet the payment plan. On the other hand changes from Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 could be done if the trustee successfully argued that some of the debtor's property could be taken away in the bankruptcy. · Deconsolidation (Splitting of a Joint Case) costs about $ 260. This typically occurs between married couples when, for example a member of the couple discovers that he or she may not need to be a part of the bankruptcy case. · The most common change made by a debtor is called amendment, costs $26 and is necessary for last-minute entries, such as adding a creditor. These are the main costs, but not the only ones, concerning Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. |
