BANKRUPTCY FEES - CHAPTER 13

     The court filing fee for a Chapter 13 is $274.  Before we can file your bankruptcy petition, we need $396 towards our fee, plus the $274 court filing fee, for a total of $670. The Bankruptcy Court permits payment of the additional attorney fee balance through your monthly plan payments to the Court.  Therefore, when we calculate the amount you need to pay each month to the Court on the Chapter 13 plan, this amount will include any attorney fee balance which, will be paid to us by the Court.

     It is important that you supply us with the names and addresses of all of your creditors.  We have to list everyone you owe money to in the bankruptcy papers.  Even if there are bills you intend to pay and do not want to wipe out, you still have to list these bills. There is an additional charge of $126 for creditors that have to be added after your petition is filed, so it is much less expensive when you bring us a complete list of all of your creditors and we don’t need to add any creditors later.

      If you own real estate, please make sure to advise us if anyone has ever sued you.  If you have been sued, a creditor may have obtained a judgment against you.  If you own real estate, this judgment could remain as a lien on your real estate even though you are
filing bankruptcy.  We can normally avoid such a lien by filing a special motion with the Bankruptcy Court. 

     Otherwise, you might try to sell your house someday and find out that you still have to pay a creditor that sued you and obtained a lien on your home.

     Even if you don’t own real estate, it is important that you tell us about people that have sued you. If you have a judgment against you, and you buy real estate in the future, that judgment might be a lien against your real estate unless it is removed by a motion filed with the Court. If nothing is done to remove the judgment while you are in bankruptcy, you can still make a motion in the Superior Court of New Jersey, in most cases, to avoid the lien. This procedure requires that the motion in Superior Court be filed at least one year after your bankruptcy discharge.

      There is a mandatory counseling session to be done either by telephone or internet before the bankruptcy can be filed. It usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes The cost ranges from $24 to $36.
This fee can sometimes be waived based on severe financial hardship. There is also a second program referred to as the debtor education program. Normally these can be conducted by telephone or online at a cost of $24.

      Another option is that the Chapter 13 trustee conducts this program about twice a
year, and you can attend for free. Completion of the debtor education program is required
for a successful discharge of your bankruptcy.

          The normal fee for a Chapter 13 is $3500.  We will start the case upon payment of
$396 towards our fee plus court costs of $274, for a total of $670.  You do not have to
pay us any more money directly once you have paid us the $670. Any fee balance
to our office can be paid to us through the plan. 

           We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the
Bankruptcy Code.