The Bankruptcy Court’s filing fees are due when you file your bankruptcy petition. However, under some circumstances, you may ask the court if you can pay the fee in installments.
To ask for installment payments, you or your bankruptcy lawyer must file a Form 3A – and propose a payment plan schedule for the entire fee. Your fee payment plan cannot have more than four installments, and the final payment must be made no later than 120 days after you file bankruptcy.
Waiving Bankruptcy Filing Fees
You can also petition the court to entirely waive the filing fee. The bankruptcy court will only waive the filing fee if your income is below 150% of the poverty line. You will have to file Form 3B – and then appear in court so the judge can ask you questions about your income and ability to pay.
Additional Bankruptcy Costs
When you file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you are required to get credit counseling from an approved provider within 6 months before your filing. And, before you can get your bankruptcy finally discharged, you must also take a personal financial management course.
Most approved credit counseling providers charge between less than $50 for the required credit counseling course. Approved debtor education courses also cost around $50.
If you can’t afford the amount charged, you can ask either of these providers to lower or waive the fee.
Affordable Attorney Fees in Bankruptcy Cases
Finally, your bankruptcy lawyer must also be paid. Remember that he or she will need to put many hours of work into your case: completing paperwork, notifying creditors, negotiating down your debts & travelling to court to appear before the judge.
Your bankruptcy lawyer went to college for many years (usually 7 or 8 years) to become an attorney – and this is how they make their living! So they need to charge for their services, too.
Note: Free Legal Aid Offices in Macomb, Oakland & Wayne County do NOT handle Bankruptcy cases.
Best Southfield Bankruptcy Attorneys
We pride ourselves on offering the most reasonable and affordable bankruptcy attorney fees in Macomb, Oakland & Wayne County – while still offering the highest quality of representation. Hiring our experienced bankruptcy lawyers to file bankruptcy for you can save you thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars! So investing a small amount in an experienced bankruptcy lawyer will pay for itself many times over.
We will offer you a FREE consultation to evaluate your situation, and help you determine if filing bankruptcy is the best option to stop for you.
We have helped hundreds of individuals in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne County. We can help you, too.