Fees

Rudolph Wm. Savich
Attorney at Law
205 North College Avenue, Ste.  315
Bloomington, IN 47404
Telephone: (812) 336-7293
Facsimile: (812) 336-7268
Email: rsavich@bankruptcybloomington.com
www.bankruptcybloomington.com
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FEE AGREEMENT FOR CHAPTER 7

1.  Initial filing.  The filing fee for Chapter 7 is $306.00.  The attorney fee is $804.00.  Total $1110.00 to be paid up front.  You get credit for any consultation fees paid before filing.  The fee of $804.00 for Chapter 7 covers preparing the petition and schedules and appearing with you at one hearing.  Any additional court appearances will require payment of additional fees.  If you fail to appear for the initial hearing (referred to as a “first meeting of creditors” or “341 meeting”), you will generally (but not always) be entitled to one continuance.  However, if I show up and you don’t, I will not appear a second time unless you pay an additional fee of $100.00 for Indianapolis, $125.00 for Terre Haute and $200.00 for New Albany.   1.a.  Credit Counseling  and Credit Education.  Under the Bankruptcy Reform Act which went into effect on October 17, 2005, all consumer debtors are required to receive a credit counseling from a qualified debt counselor prior to filing a petition for bankruptcy relief.  The typical fee for the pre-bankruptcy credit counseling is $5.00 if done by internet or $35.00 if done by phone.  You are also required to obtain credit education before you can receive a discharge of your debts.  The debtor education is also provided by an approved debt management counselor.   The typical fee for the post-bankruptcy debtor education course is $11.00-$56.00 if done by Internet or $45.00 by phone. I recommend Dave Ramsey’s post-bankruptcy debtor education course which is done over the internet and costs $25 for an individual or $45 for a married couple in a joint case. In any event, the fees charged by the credit counselor for the pre-counseling and post credit education course are separate from my fees and the filing fee.  The pre-filing counseling fee will have to be done before your bankruptcy petition can be filed..  And, in order to get the discharge, you will have to pay the $11.00-$56.00 post education course fee bringing your overall expense for the bankruptcy to $1126.00 depending on what course you take.  

2.  Adversarial Proceedings.  If your bankruptcy is challenged by a creditor or the trustee, you will have to pay and additional fee for representation regarding the challenge.  The challenge can come in the form of a motion to dismiss and objection to discharge or a complaint to determine dischargeability of a particular debt.  These challenges typically involve a separate proceeding within the bankruptcy case called an “Adversarial Proceeding”.  In the event of such a challenge to your bankruptcy, you will be charged a fee of $100.00 per hour with a $200.00 retainer.  In other words, a minimum of two hours attorney time is anticipated to ve necessary to respond to the challenge of your bankruptcy.  If the defense of your position requires more than 2 hours, you will be charged additional fees at the rate of $100.00 per hour.  If you cannot or do not pay this additional fee, then I will not be obligated to continue to represent you in the adversarial proceeding or other challenge to the bankruptcy.   3.  Civil Matters.  If you have a civil case pending in local court, the bankruptcy filing can be used to stop the pending case.  However, I must file a notice of the bankruptcy with the local court in order for the stay to be recognized by the local court judge.  There is no additional fee for filing this so-called “Motion for Stay of Proceedings” in the first two civil cases.  After the first two such motions, there will be an additional fee of $25.00 per case for each Motion for Stay of Proceedings filed. The Motion for Stay of Proceedings cannot be filed until the bankruptcy has been filed with the Bankruptcy Court and a bankruptcy case number has been assigned.  If you would like me to represent you in a pending civil matter before the bankruptcy is filed you will to pay additional fees for such representation. My fee for general legal work is $100.00 per hour. However, some common routine tasks are charged on a flat fee basis. Some examples are:    

 

Appearance and Motion to Extend Time                                                        $25.00 per case  

Appearance and Standard Answer (credit cards & collections)                    $25.00 per case

Appearance and Answer (Mortgage Foreclosure)                                         $50.00 per case  

Motion for Stay of Proceedings (starting with the Third Stay)                      $25.00 per stay  

Reaffirmation of Debt (starting with the Third Reaffirmation)                     $30.00 per reaffirmation 

Negotiate Reaffirmation (Negotiate Modification of Terms on         $100.00 per a secured loan other then a Mortgage)                                                                                    reaffirmation

Redemption of Collateral (informal)                                                              $25.00 if uncontested 

Redemption of Collateral (formal motion)                                                    $50.00  

Redemption of Collateral hearing                                                                 $100.00-$200.00  

Lien Avoidance                                                                                                $50.00 

Adversary Proceedings                                                                                   $100.00 per hour

341 Meeting no show                                                                                     $100.00-$200.00 

Postage                                                                                               Billed only if you reach $10.00

      4.  Judgement liens.  If you own real estate and a judgement has been entered and recorded against you, there is already a “judgement lien” against your property.  This lien is a blanket lien against any real estate you own in the county where the judgment is recorded.  The lien attached to the real estate even if you have not received a specific document identifying the judgment as a lien against any particular parcel of real estate.  In order to obtain the full benefit of a fresh start following your bankruptcy, it will be necessary to file a motion to avoid the judgment lien.  This is a separate motion which is filed with the bankruptcy judgment before your case is discharged.  There is an extra fee of $50.00 for each motion to avoid judgment lien which needs to be filed.  

 

5.  Other motions.

 

  Reaffirmation.  You may choose to reaffirm certain debts such as the mortgage on your home or a vehicle loan.  In most instances, the creditor prepares what is known as a reaffirmation agreement for you to sign.  If you reaffirm the debt, you will remain personally liable for the full amount of the debt despite having filed bankruptcy.  There is no additional fee for the first two reaffirmations.  Thereafter, I will charge and additional fee of $30.00 per each debt reaffirmation.  

 

Redemption.  If you owe more on a secured debt than the collateral is worth, it will be in your best interest to “redeem” the collateral by paying the creditor the fair market value of the collateral.  The redemption will need to be documented.  Sometimes a simple letter suffices in which case I will charge $25.00.  If a more formal motion needs to be filed, the charge will be $50.00.  If a court appearance becomes necessary, the charge will be based on an hourly fee of $100.00 per hour with a minimum of $100.00.  

 

Motion to avoid non-possessory, non-purchase money liens on household goods.  Sometimes finance companies will have you give them a lien on your household goods to secure a loan.  If these are items which you already own before you take out the loan(as opposed to items financed by the lender) then the lien is called a non-purchase money lien.  Such liens can be avoided, but you need to file a separate motion to do so.  The attorney fee is $50.00 for filing such a motion.  

 

6.  Criminal matters.  Sometimes a debt obligation can result in a related criminal proceeding.  For example, if you write a bad check, you owe money to the payee of the check and the prosecutor may also file a criminal charge of check deception against you.  The fee you pay for the bankruptcy does not cover representation in any criminal matters.  I do not typically handle criminal cases, so you will probably have to consult with an attorney who practices criminal law.  

7.  Amendments.  You can amend your bankruptcy petitions to include a creditor you may have overlooked.  This applies to creditors whose claims are based on charges or purchases made or event which occurred before you file your bankruptcy.  Such debts are considered “prepetition”.  There is a filing fee of $30.00 and my fee is $50.00 for a total of $80.00 which has to be paid if you file to amend your bankruptcy before the discharge is granted.  This date would be 60 days after your 341 hearing is originally scheduled.  If you find out about a prepetition debt after the bankruptcy is discharged, you can still file to reopen your bankruptcy and add in the creditor to your schedules.  The cost of reopening is $260.00 for the filing fee plus $50.00 for the amendment fee and $100.00 for my fee for preparing the paperwork.  (An overall total of $410.00).  If a court appearance becomes necessary, there is an additional attorney fee of $100.00 for Indianapolis cases; $125.00 for Terre Haute cases and $200.00 for New Albany cases.

 

8.  Payments.  My policy is to not file the petition with the bankruptcy court until my fees and the court filing fee have both been paid, a total of $1,110.00 for Chapter 7 as outlined above.  In the meantime, once I have been retained with an initial payment of $25.00, I will field inquiries from creditors, confirming that I have been retained and that you are in the process of filing bankruptcy.  During that phase, you will not have a bankruptcy case number and creditors will be free to continue collection activities such as filing and maintaining litigation, repossession, foreclosures and garnishments.  For an additional attorney fee, I can represent you in pending litigation, however, if the particular debt is undisputed, there would be little I could accomplish on your behalf.  

 

9.  Summary of Fees and Expenses for Chapter 7:

Basic Attorney fee:                                                                                             $804.00

Filing fee:                                                                                                            $306.00

Pre-filing Credit Counseling                                                                                 $5.00

Post-Education Course-Internet                                                                        $11.00

TOTAL BASIC FEES AND EXPENSES:                                                                $1126.00  

 

Some possible additional fees:

 

Appearance and Standard Answer (credit cards & collections)                     $25.00 per case  

Appearance and Answer (Mortgage Foreclosure)                                          $50.00 per case  

 

Reaffirmation of Debt (starting with the Third Reaffirmation)                     $30.00 per reaffirmation  

 

Negotiate Reaffirmation (Negotiate Modification of Terms on                   $100.00 per a secured loan other then a Mortgage)                                                                                    reaffirmation  

 

Redemption of Collateral (informal)                                                                $25.00 if uncontested  

 

Redemption of Collateral (formal motion)                                                      $50.00  

 

Redemption of Collateral hearing                                                                  $100.00-$200.00