How Much Will This Cost?
We certainly understand your concerns about how much it costs to file bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the cost of filing for bankruptcy continues to increase and moreso post-pandemic. We strive to keep our fees reasonable without it affecting our customer service. We have some of the lowest fees in south central Pennsylvania and we don't have any hidden fees. We do sometimes modify the fees below depending on a person's income or circumstances.
Generally our fees are as follows and they are not doubled for a married couple.
We reserve the right to charge more than the fees above at our discretion, for complex cases, or where our client owns a business, or for any other reason.
We discuss all fees with you during the free initial consult.
Initial Phone Consult: FREE
Set up your free phone consult HERE.
Chapter 7:
ALL fees must be paid before your bankruptcy can be filed.
Attorney Fees: $1,395
Filing Fee: $338
Counseling: $25
Chapter 13:
The up front fee must be paid in full prior to filing your bankruptcy, including the filing fee and counseling fee.
Attorney Fees: $1,395 up front. The balance (outlined below) is paid through the Chapter 13 Plan.
Filing Fee: $313
Counseling: $25
Costs paid through the Chapter 13 Plan (on average): $250
The first appointment is a Screenshare Appointment and it costs $295, and full credit is given towards the total bankruptcy fee, outlined above. This appointment is done via a Zoom conference with Attorney Cutaia and lasts approximately 2 hours.
Chapter 13 Balance: To understand our Chapter 13 fees, it is first necessary to understand how a Chapter 13 case works. When you file a Chapter 13 petition, you also file a "Plan". The plan is just the list of who is getting paid, and how much, and who isn't getting paid and what the legal basis is for not paying them. It takes 3-9 months for your plan to get confirmed. When it is confirmed it means that's your payment for the rest of your case unless something happens (job loss; win the lottery etc). Our Chapter 13 fee structure is broken down between pre and post confirmation work. For work done before your case is confirmed we charge a flat fee of $3,105 after your case is filed (total with the up front cost is $4,500). Costs are NOT part of this. After your plan is confirmed we will bill at our hourly rate for any work done. Note that the vast majority of work on your case will be completed by Plan confirmation. Work done after confirmation usually includes motions to amend a plan due to falling behind in your payments, or a change in circumstances. Many clients go their entire case with zero additional attorney fees due after their Plan is confirmed.
Fees are controlled by our fee agreement, which you will receive prior to making any payment to us. This web page is just an outline of our fees and is not binding. We provide you with a copy of our fee agreement right after the initial consultation so you have plenty of time to review it.
NOTE: Starting January 1, 2024 our fees are going up as follows:
Chapter 7 Attorney Fees: $1495 plus $338 filing fee, $25 counseling, plus $30 per credit report pulled.
Chapter 13 Attorney Fees: $1495 up front, $313 filing fee, $25 counseling, plus $30 per credit report pulled