Debtors often ask how much does a bankruptcy cost before meeting with a Seattle bankruptcy attorney. Most Seattle bankruptcy attorneys cannot give out fees without first assessing the clients situation as every case is different. There are many factors too consider and a bankruptcy lawyer needs to determine how much time that they plan to spend working on a case in order to determine what kind of fees will be involved. What I can tell you is that the court filing fee for a chapter 7 bankruptcy is $299 and $274 for a chapter 13 bankruptcy. Those fees will have to be paid regardless of whether you file your case by yourself or with the help of an attorney. The court filing fees may be paid in installments with the court, however all attorney fees must be paid prior to your bankruptcy attorney filing your case.
Another factor which will affect a bankruptcy attorney fees is the jurisdiction in which you wish to file your case. You must file your case in the location where you have lived the greater part of the last 180 days. If you file in a city with a low cost of living your fees will most likely be lower than if you were to file in a city with a high cost of living. Bankruptcy attorney fees can range anywhere from $599 – $3,000. Other factors that may affect an attorney fee is the number of years an attorney has been in practice as well as how much overhead a particular attorney has.
If you decide to hire a large firm that has TV ads or advertises on the sides of buses, the fees may be greater than if you were to hire a solo attorney who does not have the advertising expenses that a large bankruptcy law firm has. With that said a solo attorney with 30+ years of experience may end up being just as expensive as a newer attorney working at a large law firm that advertises a lot. Large law firms who advertise a lot are generally not as good in my opinion as having a solo or small firm attorney who you can get on the phone and can ask your questions to at any time. With large law firms, they often have paralegals do all the work and manage cases on behalf of their bankruptcy clients.
Large bankruptcy law firms can often cause delays in bankruptcy filings simply because they don’t have enough staff to handle all of their cases. With that said, it is possible for small firm attorneys to get busy as well, however in my experience, small firm attorneys can usually file cases in more efficiently than large bankruptcy law firms. Some solo bankruptcy attorneys are known for doing all the work themselves from the initial consultation until you get your bankruptcy discharge. At the end of the day, you should hire a bankruptcy lawyer that you feel comfortable with and that you know can get the job done in a timely fashion. If one thing is certain, all bankruptcy lawyers were not created equal.