Serving clients on the Eastside, in Seattle & throughout King County
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Fees 
The 'average' legal fee to represent a client in a consumer Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case runs between $1,000 - $2,000. You will be quoted a specific fee for your individual case once we have reviewed all of your documentation to determine the complexity of your case. A self-employed debtor that does not have accurate profit & loss statements for the past six months will incur a significantly higher fee than a 'W-2' employment income debtor, as will joint filers. You will not be obligated to execute a representation agreement or pay any fees until you receive your individual Chapter 7 quote. Accordingly, your individual fee may be more or less than the 'average'.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy legal fees do not include: (1) a Bankruptcy court filing fee of $299; (2) mandatory credit counseling and financial management course fees between $60 and $100 (dependent upon the non-profit approved counseling service chosen), and (3) a $35 - $50 credit report fee.
I accept down payments of $500 or more to begin work on a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case, but I cannot file the bankruptcy petition until all pre-petition fees and costs have been paid. Once I have been retained as your attorney and received all of your pre-petition documentation, you may instruct all creditors and debt collectors not to call you again, referring them my office instead. Please note that I cannot rebuff creditors for an indefinite period of time, so you must have all of your required checklist activities completed before referring creditor calls to my office. Once the required documents have been submitted, it will take between 3-10 days to prepare and file your Chapter 7 petition. If I discover during the petition preparation process that other information or documents may be needed, your individual case may take a little longer.
Although you may have a recent credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus, the potential liability that can be incurred from deficient creditor noticing in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case requires me to secure a complete credit report just before I file your petition. Questions about this policy? Please review this document.
Please note that additional post-petition legal services (i.e. reaffirmations, redemptions, adversary complaints, avoiding tax liens, etc.) will require additional hourly based fees. For a sample copy of my fee agreement that illustrates the services that are and are not covered in a basic Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case, please call or e-mail me, and I’ll be happy to supply you with one.
Ready to get started? Download a Prospective Client Questionnaire
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Fees
The average 'no-look' (pre-petition) legal fee to represent a client in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case runs between $2,500 - $3,500. You will be quoted a specific fee for your individual case once we have reviewed all of your documentation to determine the complexity of your case. A self-employed debtor without accurate business and personal financial statements for the past six months will incur a significantly higher fee than a 'W-2' employment income debtor, as will joint filers.
Where significant post-petition work will be required in your case, your fee may run in excess of $6,000. You will not be obligated to execute a representation agreement or pay any fees until you receive your individual Chapter 13 quote. Accordingly, your individual fee may be more or less than the 'average'.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy legal fees do not include: (1) a Bankruptcy Court filing fee of $274; (2) mandatory credit counseling and financial management course fees between $60 and $100 (dependent upon the non-profit approved counseling service chosen), and (3) a $35 - $50 credit report fee.
I accept down payments of $1,000 or more to begin work on a Chapter 13 case, but I cannot file the bankruptcy petition until all pre-petition fees and costs have been paid. Once I have been retained as your attorney and received all of your pre-petition documentation, you may instruct all creditors and debt collectors not to call you again, referring them my office instead. Please note that I cannot rebuff creditors for an indefinite period of time, so you must have all of your required checklist activities completed before referring creditor calls to my office. Once the required documents have been submitted, it will take between 7-14 days to prepare and file your Chapter 13 petition.
Although you may have a recent credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus, the potential liability that can be incurred from deficient creditor noticing in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case requires me to secure a complete credit report just before I file your petition. Questions about this policy? Please review this document.
Please note that additional post-petition legal services (i.e. reaffirmations, redemptions, adversary complaints, avoiding tax liens, etc.) require additional fees. For a sample copy of my fee agreement that illustrates what services are and are not covered by in a basic Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing, please call or e-mail me, and I’ll be happy to supply you with one.
Ready to get started? Download a Prospective Client Questionnaire
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do lawyers want so much information just to fill out forms and file a bankruptcy case?
It's more than just filling out forms. A good bankruptcy attorney needs to know a fair amount about several areas of law and how these practice areas interact with the bankruptcy Code. To properly choose the right chapter in which your petition should be filed, a complete picture of assets, income, debts and liabilities is absolutely necessary. Only when your bankruptcy attorney has a complete picture of your financial situation can a proper course of action be determined in order to fully protect your lawful exemptions. We're not asking all these questions to be nosy, we're asking to be informed - so that we can make the right choices for you. The time to fully assess your situation is before your petition is filed. You should be concerned if the bankruptcy attorney isn't asking a lot of questions.
Both you and your bankruptcy attorney do not want to discover that your filing is in any way deficient or misleading - either at the time of filing, at your 341 meeting or at your plan confirmation hearing. Thorough disclosure begins with the first attorney-client contact and continues throughout the life of the case – whether in a 3-4 month Chapter 7, or a five year Chapter 13.
Just as with carelessly prepared tax returns, misleading or inaccurate petition filings can invite what are known as Rule 2004 examinations, a delay in receiving your discharge, or a motion to dismiss your case for abuse of Bankruptcy Code provisions. The U.S. Trustees’ office also performs random audits on Debtor’s petitions. The official bankruptcy forms also contain ‘cross-checks’ to ensure that data submitted by clients is accurate and complete.
Bankruptcy attorneys are held accountable under federal laws and ethics codes for performing proper due diligence with respect to the data that has been provided by their clients. A through bankruptcy attorney should demand and investigate debtor records to the greatest extent possible to prevent false or misleading statements from being filed in the bankruptcy petition.
What is it with all of the irritating bankruptcy lawyer advertising these days?
There really is a lot of ridiculous and irritating bankruptcy law firm advertising on TV and radio these days, right up there with the barrage of so-called 'credit card relief' and 'debt consolidation' advertising we hear. Personally, I find these tactless vultures downright offensive and an affront to thousands of legal professionals who work diligently to represent their clients in a competent, honest and ethical manner. "Just let us file your petition, and your debts will magically melt away". Indeed.
In simple no-asset Chapter 7 cases consisting of a few unsecured credit card debts, it may not matter whether your bankruptcy attorney is little more than a data entry clerk, but only in extremely rare cases is this 'one-size-fits-all' approach going to result in your case being handled properly.
If you own real property, a small business, have tax assessments, family law issues, judgment liens or other significant secured and unsecured debts, your filing can be become complex relatively quickly, with possibly alternate treatments available for each asset or liability. Marital dissolution, property agreements, child support, community property, 401k plans, investments, student loans, second mortgages, condo HOA fees, time shares and auto leases can also present challenging issues in bankruptcy.
Choose your attorney wisely. Select an attorney that takes the time to understand your complete individual financial picture. Start by calling his or her office. How easy is it to get in touch with an attorney? If you have to leave a message or voice mail, how quickly is your call returned? If it's challenging for you just to get ahold of an attorney to interview him or her, you're likely not going to find it any easier to get a timely response once you're a client.
If you don’t feel like there’s a good attorney-client fit from your first interview, or that your potential attorney doesn't have a good grip on the unique issues presented in your case, find someone you’ll be more comfortable working with. After all, you may be in that attorney-client relationship for up to five years in a Chapter 13 payment plan. A bankruptcy filing is (hopefully) a once in a lifetime experience with often significant ramifications that may affect you for several years afterwards – so get it done right the first time.
It does absolutely no good if the debtors' attorney formulates a Chapter 13 repayment plan that leaves no room for reasonable monthly living expenses. Filing an unworkable plan only adds to the already high numbers of debtors that fail to successfully complete their Chapter 13 cases and receive a discharge. Effective bankruptcy attorneys tell their clients the sometimes ugly truth – rather than what they think the client wants to hear.
Bottom line? Be wary of ‘slice-and-dice-drive-thru style' bankruptcy mills that make too-good-to-be-true cheap upfront fee promises and other misleading claims.
New and Potential Clients: How Your Bankruptcy Lawyer Works
Just like every Bankruptcy case, every Bankruptcy Attorney does things a little bit differently. This missive will attempt to introduce you to the way my law office works and what you can expect from your bankruptcy attorney.
You may have noticed that there's a lot of information and documentation asked of you in a bankruptcy petition filing. While I understand the time required to prepare a case may be significant, there are sound reasons.
For one, a bankruptcy petition filing is essentially a contract entered into between the Debtor(s) and the Bankruptcy Court. In exchange for divulging accurate information about all of your assets and liabilities, the Court grants you a discharge of most, if not all of the debts listed in your petition. That's the deal. Accordingly, I expect every client to be 100% forthcoming about disclosing accurate and truthful information. The time to discover missing facts and information is not at your 341 Meeting of Creditors. Speaking from observation, that's not a tact you'll want to consider taking - so disclose everything to your attorney well before your petition is filed. The Department of Justice takes a very active interest in evasive and incomplete petitions, and they're very good at discovery.
The other part of this 'contract' involves you and your attorney. Among other information gathering tools, I use a checklist and questionnaire to gather client financial data prior to beginning work on a petition. The checklist is also used as a tool for two-way communications; as document requirements are satisfied, the checklist item is crossed off. As I review client provided documents, additional information or documentation requests are communicated back to the client via an updated checklist. I've found that this method keeps both attorney and client(s) on 'the same page' with respect to any remaining activities left to be done pre-petition. I tend to spend time looking for things a case trustee might inquire about and hope my clients like unpleasant surprises about as much as I do. Thus, you'll notice that I tend to keep things highly organized and detailed in the case preparation process.
You also need to be aware that I don't begin the petition drafting process until all of the initially required documents have been provided. Because each case has varying issues and levels of complexity, the 'due diligence' process may require additional ongoing documentation requests and fact gathering during the petition preparation process. Depending on the case, it may take as little as a week or as much as three weeks to get your petition drafted and ready to file - once I determine that I have enough information to get started. There are other timing considerations involved in planning a filing on a certain day - ideally, when the client's cash holdings are at their lowest.
When one month changes over to a new month, several aspects of a petition can be affected. New information requirements become necessary, requiring more time to update a petition. It's essential that you make all best efforts to get requested information to me quickly, as time is of the essence in getting the petition filed, thus stopping creditor harassment. Working as efficiently as possible enables me to retain most cases on an affordable flat fee basis. There can also be Court imposed limits on what fee amounts can be charged in a bankruptcy filing. Where the petition preparation process is dragged out needlessly due to client factors beyond my control, in rare cases I may elect to terminate representation of a client altogether. I can only be as diligent about getting your petition prepared as you are about getting all of the required information to me.
I know that a bankruptcy filing can be embarrassing. Nobody wants to be in this position. If you're interested in my take on the matter, this process isn't about guilt or judgment. For one reason or another, the financial numbers simply don't add up anymore. Most of the petitions I've filed are for clients that had little if any control over the financial events that led them to my office door. Bankruptcy is in our legal 'system' for a reason: to protect you from creditors taking everything you own.
If there's something confusing or unclear about certain questions being asked, or documents required, feel free to seek clarification from me. You'll find that I'm most effective when my clients stay involved in their cases. I tend to work with electronic documents (.pdfs) and email as much as possible, so please check your email at least daily once you've become a client. I'm also generally accessible by phone during normal working hours unless I'm with clients or in Court.
For further information, feel free to contact me at (206) 300-2733, or by email at fred@fjmlaw.net. I look forward to helping you get through this process as quickly and painlessly as possible!
Ready to get started? Download a Prospective Client Questionnaire
Law Office of Fred Martens
Phone: 206.300.2733
Fax: 425.643.6222
Email: fred@fjmlaw.net
Skype Subscribers: call 'fjmlaw' on your Skype phone
Mail Address:
Law Office of Fred Martens P.O. Box 6416 Bellevue, WA 98008-6416
Office Address:
Law Office of Fred Martens 14040 NE 8th St, Suite 211 Bellevue, WA 98007
