Paying for things you need is one of life’s little dilemmas. Paying for legal help in Bankruptcy is one of life’s larger dilemmas.
A bankruptcy client’s common refrain is, “how do I pay for a bankruptcy attorney when I can’t pay my bills?”
There are a number of ways to come up with the attorney fee, some are sensible, others are borderline ridiculous. Smashing your 10-year-old child’s piggy bank just isn’t worth it in the long run.
One way to pay for a bankruptcy attorney that is often overlooked, and that will allow the case to be filed before the fee is fully paid, is to use a chapter 13 bankruptcy instead of a chapter 7 bankruptcy.
A few attorneys in Arizona will agree to take a small amount upfront and to then build the remainder of the attorney fee into the plan. It gets paid over time via monthly plan payments and it is interest fee.
I like to do this for cooperative clients because it allows them the ability to get a case analyzed and filed now instead of later.
The upfront attorney fee can be as low as $500.00 depending on the individual facts of the case and the client’s willingness to cooperate. A filing fee must be paid to the Court and a pre-petition class must be taken as well prior to filing. The filing fee for a chapter 13 case is $274.00 and the pre-petition class is typically $40.00 to $60.00.
If you have a steady income but are low on funds for an attorney, you should consider chapter 13 bankruptcy.
