How Much Will it Cost to
Start Chapter 13 or Chapter 7?

Filing Costs:  For a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the federal filing fee is $335.00. A credit counseling certificate is required to file, $45.00 (this fee includes both the pre-filing and the pre-discharge counseling). This counseling may be done at our office while we are opening the file.

We can also obtain your credit report for $20.00 for a single report, $40.00 for a joint report. This is not mandatory but we find it to be very helpful if you don’t have a complete and accurate list of creditors.

Attorney’s fees:  Clark & Washington charges $1,250.00 for attorney’s fees in a routine Chapter 7 case. 

To sum it up, the cost to file a Chapter 7 consists of the Filing fee of $335.00, the credit counseling fee of $45.00, and our attorney’s fees of $1250.00, for a total of $1630 for a standard Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. 

You may pay attorney’s fees and costs by cash, personal check, debit card, money order or checks from a third-party.  We can also open a file and hold it open until all the fees and costs are paid; at which time we will file your case.

Although our standard fee of $1,250.00 applies in 90% of our cases, this fee can vary (both up and down) depending on a number of factors such as:

• the total amount of debt
• the type of debt ( secured debt, judgments, credit cards, taxes, student loans etc…)
• the amount and type of assets
• whether you owe either priority or stale taxes
• the number of pieces of real estate owned

Filing Costs:  The cost to file a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will be the Federal Court filing fee of $310.00 ($74 partial payment to file, remainder is paid thru the plan) plus the credit counseling fee of $45.00 (this includes both the pre-petition and pre-discharge counseling) for a total of $355.00.

Attorney’s Fees:  All attorney’s fees for a Chapter 13 are routinely put into the repayment plan. The Chapter 13 Trustee will pay the attorney’s fees on a monthly basis along with the other creditors. Chapter 13 costs can also vary so we strongly recommend a free consultation with one of attorneys.