Question about reducing cost of attorney

[dsrnc]

Hello! I have been lurking for a while and am still deciding whether to file a 13 or not. My question is, if I were to do most of the paperwork for the attorney, would that affect the cost of the attorney? I would love to file pro se, but would like the assurance of having the attorney for anything that may come up. Has anyone done this before and did it help in your total bill from the attorney? Thanks in advance!

[newbie2]

Hello! I have been lurking for a while and am still deciding whether to file a 13 or not. My question is, if I were to do most of the paperwork for the attorney, would that affect the cost of the attorney? I would love to file pro se, but would like the assurance of having the attorney for anything that may come up. Has anyone done this before and did it help in your total bill from the attorney? Thanks in advance!

I think it would be extremely rare for an attorney do to "partial" work for you. An attorney has to certify that everything in your filing is true ..how can they do that if they aren't taking care of the whole petition? Too much risk for the attorney in my opinion.

You can file on your own however filing a Chapter 13 is extremely complex. You may be able to hire a paralegal to do the paperwork for you, but know that they cannot provide legal advice. Also, keep in mind that many attorneys put quite a bit of their fee for a Chapter 13 in the plan, so you are not "out of pocket" for the whole bill prior to filing. This is one instance where in trying to save a few dollars could cost you quite a bit more.

[dsrnc]

Thanks! That is kind of what I was thinking already, just thought I would ask. I am hoping the the fees will be put into the plan, although I have seen several posts of others that have to pay up front. That is the most worrisome thing to me at the moment. I appreciate the reply!

[HHM]

As newbei2 points out, there is actually very little an individual can do to help save cost and time in a case. A good attorney has to do certain things in the case. So even if you were to actually fill out the petition, the attorney is still going to have to go over it, verify it, and make change.

But I think you are asking the wrong question...how much is it really worth to you. (Forget actual cost). Let's say you are a chapter 7 and have $100,000 in debt. How much would you actually be willing to pay to have someone seamlessly eliminate that debt. Do all the work, guarantee the result, not charge you additional fees if there are hiccups, allow un-restricted access to the attorney, etc, isn't that "worth" maybe 5% or 10% of the debt load being eliminated?

[lillymarlene]

Thanks! That is kind of what I was thinking already, just thought I would ask. I am hoping the the fees will be put into the plan, although I have seen several posts of others that have to pay up front. That is the most worrisome thing to me at the moment. I appreciate the reply!

It depends upon the attorney. I had to pay mine about 40% up front, and the rest was put into the plan. I was also given a list with prices about other services, that may or may not be needed.

[mwr]

You've received much good advice in this thread. A 13 is complex enough that you need a good attorney who is experienced in 13s, and most (maybe all good ones) won't be willing to participate in a partial-do-it-yourself case because it would probably wind up to be more work than the attorney handling it.