Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Wisconsin

Bankruptcy Attorney Fees for Complex Chapter 13 with Disputed IRS Claim

If the IRS indeed withdrew their claim due to your attorney's efforts, his services may be well worth what he is charging you, since he may have saved you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chapter 13's can often be extremely effective in reducing old IRS claims for income taxes, but require extensive follow-up and argument with the IRS by the attorney. The same is true of your ability to substantially reduce interest charges and amount owed in some secured obligations in chapter 13 cases such as car loans and second mortgages on real estate. Other than that, without reviewing your contract with your attorney, I could not advise you on whether or not the fees are within the limit you agreed to when you retained him. I have certainly heard of much higher fees in complex chapter 13 cases. Although many bankruptcy attorneys (including my office) charge a "flat fee" quote for initially filing and representing you through your first court date, all attorneys charge for the rare additional litigation which can sometimes come up after the first court date in complex cases. If you obtain a detailed bill, I would be willing to review it and provide my opinion on its reasonableness for a small fee. My comments here are not intended as legal advice to you unless you subsequently retain me and revisit this issue with me afterwards.