How Much Will My Bankruptcy Case Cost?
When you are planning to file for personal bankruptcy, or your business is considering a bankruptcy filing in South Florida, a question that often comes to mind is one concerning cost. In short, how much does a bankruptcy case cost? There is no single answer to that question since the cost of a bankruptcy case will depend on multiple factors, including the type of bankruptcy filing, the complexity of the bankruptcy case, the cost of attorney fees, and whether you are eligible for a filing fee to be waived. To determine the closest estimate for the cost of your bankruptcy filing, you should get in touch with a West Palm Beach bankruptcy lawyer to discuss the details of your specific case. In the meantime, we can tell you more about some of the financial costs associated with different types of bankruptcy cases.
Filing Fees
Each type of bankruptcy case has associated filing fees. In other words, you will need to pay filing fees in order to initiate your bankruptcy case. Depending upon your financial circumstances in an individual bankruptcy case, you may be able to ask the court to pay the bankruptcy filing fee in installments, so you might not have to pay all of the filing fee up front and at once. However, installment payments may not be possible, and it is important to remember that you will still need to pay the full filing fee even if you are paying in installments. In some cases, debtors in Chapter 7 cases can ask the court to waive the filing fee, but this is typically only possible when the debtor is unable to pay the filing fee in installments and has an income significantly below the poverty line.
Whether you are paying in installments or at once, the following are current fees for different types of bankruptcy cases, whether the debtor is an individual or a business:
- Chapter 7: $338;
- Chapter 11: $1,738;
- Chapter 12: $278; and
- Chapter 13: $313.
Trustee Commissions and Quarterly Fees
In a reorganization bankruptcy, you should anticipate a trustee commission in a Chapter 13 case and quarterly fees in a Chapter 11 case. The trustee’s commission is a percentage of the amount paid in the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan, but bankruptcy law limits the commission to 10 percent of that amount. In a Chapter 11 case, quarterly fees are based on the total quarterly disbursements, so fees will vary from case to case.
Attorney Fees
You should also plan to pay attorney fees in your bankruptcy case. While it can be possible to file a bankruptcy case without a lawyer, bankruptcy law is extremely complicated. Accordingly, it is usually in the debtor’s best interest to have an attorney on their side. Attorney fees can vary depending upon the complexity of your case and other factors. To learn more about attorney fees, you should discuss your details with a lawyer in South Florida.
Contact Our West Palm Beach Bankruptcy Attorneys
Do you want to learn more about bankruptcy and costs for your case? You should contact one of the experienced West Palm Beach bankruptcy lawyers at Kelley, Fulton, Kaplan & Eller to learn more about how we can help you.
Source:
law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11
justice.gov/ust/chapter-11-quarterly-fees
