Don’t wait until your wages are garnished, car is repossessed, or house is foreclosed before consulting with a bankruptcy attorney.

How does someone in need of debt relief produce over $1,000.00 to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy? Someone planning ahead might manage to tighten their budget, and make payments to an attorney; but for someone whose wages are being garnished, or under some other financial burden resulting from unpaid debt, producing the amount necessary to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is an implausible goal. This is why it is important to plan ahead.


How much does it cost to file for Bankruptcy?






A reasonable Attorney’s fee for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy may range anywhere from $500-$1,200.

Why the large price range?


 


Some attorneys will offer a really low base price then charge additionally for every meeting or phone call leading up to the filing; and other attorneys will offer a large, all-inclusive price, rather than “nickle-and-diming” their clients whenever they need help. Most attorneys offer free consultation, make sure to ask your attorney about their policy before making a commitment.


Filing Fee:

An attorney will also collect from the client a filing fee payable to the Bankruptcy Court, which totals $335 in a Chapter 7, but varies for other types of Bankruptcy. For more information about the various types of Bankruptcy and their respective filing fees, please refer to

this link

.

While the majority of an attorney’s fee in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can be paid through the repayment plan, in a Chapter 7 there is no repayment plan, so the attorney must be paid his or her fee entirely upfront, or else what the attorney is owed will be discharged with the rest of their clients’ debt. For a better explanation between the differences between a Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, please refer to this prior 

blog post

.

How to Produce $1,000.00 for Bankruptcy:


DO NOT COMMIT A FRAUD:

It is fraudulent to borrow money in order to finance a Bankruptcy. The creditor can object to the discharge, and the case may be dismissed subject to a 180-day waiting period for refiling

ASK FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR HELP:

Maybe there is a rich uncle or friend from high school that’s willing to help out, but what if that friend or relative wants to be paid back? A debtor is welcome to pay back any creditor that has been discharged. If a friend or family member is willing to help with the fee, make sure that person understands repayment will not be legally enforceable after the bankruptcy discharge; otherwise the act of borrowing may be a fraud that can impact the bankruptcy proceedings.

BUDGET:

This strategy is optimal because it prepares the Debtor for an economically sustainable lifestyle. There are several free resources that can be found on the internet to help facilitate creating a budget, but a spread sheet or pen and paper will work fine.

Remember, the normal goal in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is to discharge all unsecured debts, and maybe some debts securing property that is no longer desirable to keep; therefore it is unnecessary to include payment for these debts in the budget. Excluding minimum payments on unsecured debt will help produce the amount necessary to hire an attorney, but you can expect collection calls to come in up until the date of filing. Waiting too long to file bankruptcy after ceasing payments to unsecured creditors could result in being summoned to claims court.

TAX TIME:


Most people who are regularly employed receive at least $1,000.00 back in overpaid income taxes once per year. How wonderfully convenient that’s about how much it costs to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

If you’ve been served with a summons and are not sure if you can make it to tax time before a judgment is entered against you, a judge may be willing to postpone your case for a little while if you’ve retained a bankruptcy attorney.




FREE CONSULT:

Get a free consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney to determine how to best plan ahead for bankruptcy.



The Boiling Frog






The Boiling Frog is a popular metaphor proposing that if a frog is immediately immersed into water of a dangerous temperature, it will jump out; but if a frog is placed in water of a safe temperature, then that water is slowly brought to a boil, the frog will allow itself to die.

The prudent debtor is like the frog immediately immersed into dangerous water, perceptive of the consequences of a wage garnishment or vehicle repossession; as such the prudent debtor is likely to consult with a bankruptcy attorney at the first sign of a serious consequence of an unpaid debt, and come up with a plan of action while it is within their capacity.

The imprudent debtor is like the frog wading in water of a rising temperature, either pretending or foolishly believing their finances are under control; as such the imprudent debtor will wait to consult with a bankruptcy attorney until their wages are garnished, or vehicle is repossessed, debilitating them from paying an attorney to help solve their problem.

Be prudent, beat burdensome credit collection activity by consulting with a local bankruptcy attorney.

Bankruptcy is a driven practice for an experienced debt relief attorney, like those at Smith Law, Ltd. Because there are so many nuances in the application of bankruptcy law, it is inadvisable that an individual not experienced or knowledgeable about Title 11 of the U.S. Code, and how the courts have interpreted those laws, to file bankruptcy without the assistance of counsel.

If you would like to speak to experienced debt relief attorneys please contact Smith Law, Ltd.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief.