Attoney Fees

[favor4us]

Seasons Greetings All!

I met with my first att. yesterday and I have a question in regards to the price I got for her fees, $3800.00!!! I was expecting more like $800 - $2700 based on what I have read on Chapter 13. Is this an average fee for Georgia?

Thanks

[HHM]

Well, $800 is way too low for a chapter 13, in fact, I'd be surprised if you could even get a chapter 7 for $800 anymore.

$3800 is a little high. Most Chapter 13's top out at about $3,500 unless there are known complications, or IRS issues to complicate matter, but most chapter 13's (after factoring in the filing fee) are $3,000 or more. Also note, you don't come out of pocket for that, most of the fee gets rolled into your chapter 13 payment plan.

However, because $3,800 is on the high side, I'd shop around if I were you, but the cheapest lawyer is not always the best lawyer.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

I'm filing in the state of VA. Originally my Bk for Ch13 was about $3000, of which $1000 gets paid back to the lawyer through the plan. However, I converted to Ch7 and now I dont owe anything. It really depends on how complicated your case may be, like if you have assets, and how many creditors/credit you have and are filing for. I know my lawyer charges more depending how many creditors one is fling, assets, etc. like I mentioned the more paperwork/complicated you case may be probably the more money your looking to pay.

Best wishes, catchmeifyoucan

[SinkingFast]

When we were first shopping for an attny, it was during the transition. The Old Law filing rush was dieing down and New Law filing hadn't picked up yet. Attnys were pretty much still quoting their old rates.

$700-$1K for Ch 7, $2K-$2500 for Ch 13.

I've noted that attnys are charging more now that they are handling more New Law cases. Ch 7 has jumped to $1200-$2K and sometimes more. Ch 13 is in the $3K-$3500 range.

If this particular attny is a bit more expensive than others, could be he/she is very respected and his/her Ch 13 plans tend to go thru without a hitch.

If all attnys quote you a higher than normal fee, could be your case is a bit more complicated for whatever reason.

As HHM suggested, you won't know until you shop around a bit.

[favor4us]

Thanks All!!