Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Missouri

The answer is an unqualified "it depends". Permissible "flat fees" for the basic services attorney portion of the cost are set by court rules and if an attorney feels s/he should be entitled to more, s/he must submit supporting documentation. My own fee is less than the allowable maximum, which is $1000 for a chapter 7 and $3000 for a Chapter 14. Services not considered "basic" will cost more; for example, if the attorney must defend a Motion to Dismiss, s/he is entitled to an extra $200 in fees. Then there are the court fees, The "filing fee" (actually the filing fee and other court expenses) for a Chapter 7 is $299 and is $274 for a Chapter 13. As a general rule, the entire amount for a Chapter 7 is required prior to filing, but it may be possible to pay part of the attorney fee on a Chapter 13 after filing. Both a 7 and a 13 require a pre-filing credit counseling class, which generally runs about $50, and a post-filing financial management class which runs a bit less. Many attorneys also obtain your credit reports and there is an additional fee for this.

How long, you ask? Usually--again, there are exceptions to every rule--a Chapter 7 case is closed within 6 months of filing. A chapter 13 plan is usually either a 3 year or a 5 year plan. Preparing to file a petition can be quite time-consuming. You can help speed up the process by providing plenty of information. Bankruptcy filings are at record levels, so most bankruptcy attorneys have a bit of a backlog in their work.

After a person has decided to file bankruptcy, it usually makes more financial sense to divert the money that would have been used to pay debts that are going to be written off in the bankruptcy towards payment of the fees. Some debts can be written off and some can't, so please, consult an attorney to find out the particulars.