Lafayette (765) 588-5080 | Indianapolis (317) 634-5968
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Bankruptcy Costs in Indianapolis, Indiana
You are probably curious as to the cost to file your bankruptcy case. Obviously, if you are facing debts and considering bankruptcy, you are not in a position to spend a lot of money on anything. However, ensuring that you have competent representation for your case is vital.
During court hearings, we often see folks who are attempting to represent themselves in their bankruptcy or using inexperienced attorneys. Often times, these cases end in easily avoided disaster because the person was not aware of the many variables that affect a seemingly “simple” Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Some folks end up losing assets that could have easily been protected if they had a competent attorney to represent them.
Bankruptcy is about much more than just filling out forms. We like to compare the idea of representing yourself in a bankruptcy to repairing your own car’s transmission. Are you allowed to do it yourself? Sure. But should you? Do you really have the necessary skills to make sure you do it correctly? Or are you just risking a much more expensive repair if you do something wrong?
We are committed to helping our clients by offering quality representation for fair fees and with very flexible payment plans.
Legal Fees & Costs to File for Bankruptcy in Indianapolis
We'll be able to give you a set price once we've fully evaluated your situation. Most cases are handled on a flat-fee basis, so you don't have to worry about unpredictable hourly charges. We set our fees based on your situation and what it will cost to handle your case, and you can always pay our fees in installments over time.
Beware of anyone that tries to sell you a "one-size-fits-all" bankruptcy....there is no such thing. What we can promise you is that we will tell you about all the costs up-front, before you decide to hire us. With our firm, there are no hidden fees.
There are three components to your bankruptcy costs. The Attorney Fee, the Due Diligence Costs, and the Court Filing Fee.
Bankruptcy Attorney Fees
Attorney Fees for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
For Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can expect the attorney fees to range between $1800-$2300, depending on the specifics. Factors we take into consideration include: whether you are filing individually or with a spouse, whether you own real estate, how many secured debts you have, the types and amount of income you receive, and any other factors that can affect the time necessary for your case and complexity of your case. Most of our clients fall into the lower half of this range.
Attorney Fees for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
In Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, a good portion of your fees can be incorporated into the trustee payment over the 3-5 years that you will be in the case. At our firm, we determine how much of the fee to collect prior to filing and how much to build into your plan based on your specific circumstances and the facts of your case. This can range from $1800 up to the full amount of the Chapter 13 fee. Regardless of the amount required prior to filing, you can still pay our fee in installments leading up to the filing.
In the Indiana bankruptcy courts, the court or bankruptcy trustee has established guideline fees that most attorneys use as a standard total attorney fee for the entire Chapter 13 case. This ranges from $4000-$4500 depending on the district in which you reside. Keep in mind, we represent you for 3-5 years after filing, so this is intended to cover those services, and much of this will be paid over the life of the case, not up-front.
Due Diligence (Document) Costs
The other costs involved in filing bankruptcy are taking the credit counseling and debtor education courses (these are really simple and can be done online or by phone), and obtaining your credit reports. The service we use for these also provides some additional benefits, like the opportunity to review your credit reports again after the bankruptcy for accuracy.
We get all of these items for you at a very reasonable cost (currently $175 total for an individual, $225 for a married couple) so you don't have to worry about tracking down all the information. The credit reports we use incorporates the information from all three major credit reporting agencies and also searches court records and other sources for creditor information. It is much more thorough than the "free" credit reporting services out there. The cost for this is the same regardless of the chapter you file under.
Bankruptcy Filing Fee
Finally, the last cost is the Court Filing Fee. For bankruptcy Chapter 7, this is currently $338; for Chapter 13 it is $313. This is paid to the bankruptcy court for accepting your case and helps the court cover costs such as postage (to notify all your creditors of your filing), staff at the court, etc.
Payment Plans
At Perez & Perez Bankruptcy, we offer convenient payment plans to cover your fees and costs. Most of our clients choose electronic payments, where we set up a payment plan that draws from your checking or savings account, or debit card. We can set up payments weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or whatever is most convenient for you. The timeframe is also up to you.
Many of our clients use their tax refunds as an opportunity to pay the entire remaining balance of their fee at once and file sooner. Others have friends or family that assist with the costs. In those situations, we are even set up to take credit card payments, as long as they come from a third party. Obviously, we can't accept credit card payments from your card, since you will be eliminating the credit card debt in the case.
Disclaimer
We are a debt relief agency helping people file for relief under the bankruptcy code. The information contained herein is not legal advice. Any information you submit to Perez & Perez via this website may not be protected by attorney-client privilege. An attorney responsible for the content of this Site is Juan A. Perez Jr., licensed in Indiana with offices at 333 N. Alabama St., Ste 350A, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
Mailing address: PO Box 1019, Brownsburg, IN 46112
Email: contact@perezlawindiana.com
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 634-5968
OTHER OFFICE LOCATIONS
Perez & Perez Bankruptcy
133 N. 4th Street, Ste 409
Lafayette, IN 47901
(765) 588-5080
Perez & Perez Bankruptcy
7230 Arbuckle Commons, Ste 152
Brownsburg, IN 46112
(317) 836-5950
