COST OF BANKRUPTCY

The total cost of bankruptcy to the person filing will obviously depend on whether or not you are using any professional services to help you through this.

However to give you an idea of the approximate costs involved, the figures below should help.

The cost for filing your bankruptcy with the court will be about $300.  It is usually less so that is a ceiling figure.  This applies to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, 12 and also 13.  This figure does not apply to a business or corporate bankruptcy.  That is completely different.

Now if you are using a bankruptcy attorney or a bankruptcy lawyer to represent you and guide you through the process then costs for this will vary.  However once again a good approximate figure to budget for your bankruptcy attorney fees would be $2000.

Unless you have a very complicated case, or you are using an extremely expensive attorney with an office on 5^th Avenue, you should not in general be paying more than that.  In a lot of standard personal consumer bankruptcy cases it will in fact be cheaper than this and nearer to $1000.

The one thing you must do however is confirm all these costs in writing before you go ahead and engage any professional help.  Along with confirmation, always get a breakdown of what the charges are for all itemised.  This way, no unforeseen added charges can crop up at the last minute.

You can then use this list, and if your bankruptcy attorney is doing something for you that is not already on the list, ask them ‘is this covered in your charges’.

Remember that no matter how strong you are feeling, you are probably in a very vulnerable situation, and sometimes, some unscrupulous people may try and take advantage of that. If you have a good understanding of the cost of bankruptcy and it is laid out in writing for you then you will be protected against this.

Once again please note that the cost of a corporate bankruptcy is complete different and none of the figures quoted above apply.

Another invaluable piece of advice is to always always get a free consultation with the firm or person you are thinking of using to represent you and your bankruptcy.

This is vital for a couple of reasons.

The first one is the fact that any attorney or lawyer worth their salt should offer this free call or meeting, and if they do not then do not consider using them.  This benefits them as well as you and a professional ethical attorney should not take a client on or quote them a figure until they have had the opportunity to talk with them.

The second reason is just as crucial.  You must have a good feeling about the person you will be working with on what is probably going to be an intensely private, and sometimes traumatic experience.  If you do not get a good feeling for them on this free call, and how they treat you, then once again, do not use them.

In fact even if you are thinking of going it alone, which is acceptable for so many people and is effective, you would still be well advised to take advantage of a free consultation. You cannot lose.  You may well gain a lot from this; in fact there are several things that can be gained.

Firstly you can get a good idea from a free call about whether yours is a straightforward case and that will give you the confidence to go ahead and do it yourself.

Secondly, conversely you may find out that your case is a little more complex than you think, and in this case you would be well advised to get more advice and help.