Hi, I’m attorney Kevin Williams and I’d like to talk to you about preparing for a
bankruptcy filing and the costs of the process.
First off, I won’t hand you a stack of forms or send you to a website to fill out a
questionnaire – unless that’s what you want. Instead, we will sit down, one on one
and in person, and discuss your situation, your goals, and how we can meet those
goals.
We’ll also discuss what kinds of information that I will need. In most cases, you will
need to bring me six month’s worth of pay stubs, your most recent tax return, and
bills and letters from your creditors.
We’ll also probably sit together in front of my computer – don’t worry, it has a really
big screen – and go over your credit bureau together. You can also see you current
credit score and what your score will probably be a year after your discharge – and
scores usually go up, not down.
I will organize the information, put it on the computer, and send you a draft of your
filing. I will ask that you review it carefully, I’ll make changes, and you’ll review it
again. Only after it’s completely correct will I file your petition.
Filing these days is done with computers. It’s not unusual for me to complete a filing
at night or on a weekend and, of course, you don’t need to be there.
That’s pretty much all there is as far as the filing itself is concerned. Chances are you
will only need to make one or two trips to my office, but you can pretty much visit
me as often as you’d like – ideally with an appointment so I won’t keep you waiting -
- without any additional charge. Some folks like to chat in person and that’s just fine
by me.
What’s it cost?
Well, unless you have an extremely complicated situation involving a business,
investments, and things of that nature, the fee for a Chapter 7 “no repayment plan”
will almost never exceed $1,250 and will often be less. I’ll tell you what I will charge
after we chat but before you have any obligations to pay me a cent.
If you instead file for a Chapter 13 “partial repayment plan, the fee will be put in
your plan, and you’ll pay it as part of your plan’s payment program.
In both cases you will need to pay a filing fee that I will pay to the bankruptcy court.
It’s less than $300 for either plan.
Our firm has extensive experience in assisting people just like you with a
customized, personal, goal-based approach to bankruptcy, debt relief and
other financial improvement tools. If you’re in Middle Tennessee, please
call me today at 615-264-8249 for a no-charge consultation to answer any
questions you might have.
