If you choose to file a bankruptcy in the Atlanta area, you will need to pay both the bankruptcy court filing fees, and you will need to pay your lawyer for his/her services.
Chapter 7 Costs
The current filing fee for Chapter 7 is $335. This filing fee goes directly to the clerk of bankruptcy court.
Attorneys’ fees for Chapter 7 will depend on the complexity of your case. At Ginsberg Law Offices, our fee will be around $1,500. If we see that complications will be likely, the fee may be higher.
When you factor in the cost of a mandatory credit counseling certificate (around $25), you will need around $1,900 cash in order to file Chapter 7.
Obviously we understand that anyone filing a Chapter 7 does not have a lot of disposable cash, so we keep our fees as low as we can given the level of service we provide.
Chapter 13 Costs
The current filing fee for Chapter 13 is $310. This filing fee goes directly to the clerk of bankruptcy court.
Attorneys’ fees in Chapter 13 will generally be in the $4,500 to $5,500 range. However, we can back load most of the Chapter 13 attorneys’ fee into your repayment plan. We generally ask for $1,000 of our fee up front, with the remainder paid to us by the Chapter 13 trustee from the funds you pay into your plan.
When you factor in the cost of a mandatory credit counseling certificate (around $25), you will need around $1,350 cash in order to start your Chapter 13 case.
Ginsberg Law Offices vs. High Volume Bankruptcy Mill Law Firm
If you look around, you will see some Atlanta area law firms offering lower up front costs to start bankruptcy, or lower fees in general. Usually these discounted fees are offered by high volume bankruptcy mill law firms, or by new lawyers who offer discounts to drum up business.
- Ginsberg Law Offices is not a discount law firm. We do not charge the high rates of downtown law firms but we are also not the right choice if your only concern is saving $200 to $300 and choosing the least expensive lawyer.
- When you choose Ginsberg Law, you will interact directly with your lawyer – either Jonathan Ginsberg or Susan Blum. We do not use paralegals for petition preparation, drafting pleadings or negotiating with the trustee. We represent clients in Atlanta, Gainesville, Newnan and Rome – all divisions of the Northern District of Georgia bankruptcy court.
- We do not use contract lawyers at hearings – when you appear at your “meeting of creditors” hearing you will see 2 or 3 contract lawyers who appear on behalf of other law firms shouting out names to locate the client they have been hired to represent).
- You will meet Jonathan or Susan or Day One – and not someday meet a staff lawyer only if there is a problem with creditors or the trustee.
- Our firm files approximately 10 to 15 cases per month. Some of the high volume firms in town file 300 cases or more per month and use an assembly line of paralegals or new lawyers to process the paperwork.
Jonathan brings over 35 years’ experience to our practice and Susan over 25 years. We have each filed hundreds of cases over the years and we have seen just about every common and unusual problem. Both Jonathan and Susan have taught continuing legal education classes and we keep up to date on the frequent changes to the federal bankruptcy laws.
