Also known as a fresh start bankruptcy. This type of bankruptcy is usually appropriate for people who have a lot of credit card debt and/or medical bills or other unsecured debts. You may have no more than $125,000.00 of equity in a home and your income must be below the median income for households of your size in this state. If you have more than $125,000.00 in equity in your home (or own substantial other valuable assets besides normal household items), or if your household income exceeds the median income for households of your size, then you may not be eligible for Chapter 7 and you may be required to file under Chapter 13, discussed below. The attorney fees for a typical non-business Chapter 7 case are $1,500.00, with an additional charge of $335.00 to cover the bankruptcy court filing fee. The total cost to you, therefore, is $1,835.00. Attorney fees for a case involving a business (either currently operating or defunct) start at $2,500.00, plus filing fee and set-up costs of $335.00, for a total of at least $2,835.00. For a non-business case, a minimum non-refundable payment of $500.00 is reqiuired in order for us to start work on your case; for a business case, a minimum non-refundable payment of $1,000.00 is reqiuired. A second payment of at least $500.00, plus $335.00 for the filing fees, would then be required in order to file your case with the court. The remaining balance of $500.00 (or more, in a business case) must be paid prior to the 341 hearing which is usually about 30 days after filing. PLEASE NOTE: OUR FEES DO NOT INCLUDE CHARGES FOR CREDIT REPORTS OR PRE-BANKRUPTCY DEBT COUNSELING CERTIFICATES OR CHARGES FOR ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO OBTAIN BY THE U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT OR THE BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE ASSIGNED TO YOUR CASE. ALL CASES: If you have decided to proceed with the filing of a bankruptcy petition through this office, please indicate below which type of case you would like to file (the attorney will review this if you are unsure) and then sign this fee agreement in the space provided. You will also need to submit a completed bankruptcy questionnaire with all necessary supporting documents and pay the necessary fee retainer. By signing this fee agreement, you acknowledge and agree that all amounts paid for attorney fees to this office are deemed to be earned at the time payment is made and are non-refundable. This means that if you change your mind for any reason after you have made a payment to this office, there will be no refund for any amounts paid for attorney fees. Amounts you have paid for costs such as filing fees or credit reports may be refundable if the costs have not already been incurred at the time the request for a refund is made. We provide the following services under the fee agreements described above: - Review and analysis of your current financial situation
- Determination as to whether client qualifies for relief under Chapter 7 and/or Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code;
- Description of relief available under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 and description of how the bankruptcy process works;
- Copies of notices required to be provided by the Bankruptcy Code;
- We provide a questionnaire to be completed, with instructions, and a list of documents to be provided to this office and the Bankruptcy Court and/or Trustee;
- Preparation of bankruptcy petition and schedules of assets and liabilities, income and expenses, and statement of affairs and schedule of exempt property;
- Computation of your average monthly income based on income for the past 6 months
- Preparation of Chapter 13 plan, if applicable, and amendments thereto if necessary
- Representation at Meeting of Creditors (Trustee’s Meeting)
- Negotiation with creditors and execution of reaffirmation agreements, if applicable
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