Many of our Washington State bankruptcy clients retain by entering into a payment plan for their fees after our first consultation. Once you have retained us, you have an attorney working for you. We charge flat fees so you do not have to worry about being charged for every phone call from you or a creditor.
We take calls from your creditors and will confirm that you have retained us as a client. When a creditor knows that you have decided to file bankruptcy, they will usually back off from their collection efforts. As far as the fees involved in handling your case, it's impossible to know exactly what your bankruptcy will cost without a proper understanding of the work involved, a consultation is required.
Unlike a lot of "cookie cutter" bankruptcy mills that just try and process your petition as quickly as possible without maximizing your protection or your relief under the bankruptcy code, our attorneys take a different approach. We pride ourselves on providing top quality legal services at affordable rates. And, our bankruptcy lawyers believe that our fees are highly competitive for the quality of legal services provided.
Our goal isn't to be the "cheapest" bankruptcy attorney in town. Rather, it's to provide our clients with the legal services they need at affordable rates. We price our cases based on an honest assessment of the amount of work we anticipate your case taking given our years of experience successfully handling numerous Washington State bankruptcy cases. We also offer affordable payment plans that fit your budget.
For many of our bankruptcy clients, just knowing that they can and will soon file for bankruptcy protection lowers their stress level. Our lawyers don't want you worried about your legal fees too. Our payment plans will work for you and your family.
After your free initial consultation, you will typically know which debts you will never have to pay again, and you can stop making payments on that debt immediately. Your cash flow can and will improve as soon as you talk to one of our experienced bankruptcy attorneys. Necessities that were long neglected, such as dental care, new clothes for the kids, new tires for the car, and many other things that recently seemed like a luxury, suddenly become possible. You see light at the end of the tunnel.
When you meet with us, we will set up an easy payment plan on our flat fee. We will work for you during the entire time you are making payments. If you want to give us a debit card number, we can run it on days you agree. We are flexible and, as long as the delay is not too unreasonable, you can call us to skip a payment while you are getting ready to file your case.
For a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, we need our fees paid up front. This is because our fees become a dischargeable debt when we file your petition.
Chapter 13 cases almost always involve part of the fee being paid up front and the balance being consolidated with your Chapter 13 payment plan. This portion of the retainer is usually negotiable, and we try to be as flexible as possible. We typically charge the statutory flat fee of $4000 with a portion of this paid prior to filing for most Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases.
This is because Chapter 13 cases are considerably more complicated and involve a lot more hours of work than most Chapter 7 cases. But, again, we often agree to have a large portion of the fees from our Chapter 13 cases paid directly out of your payment plan once it is formally approved by the court.