conversion to ch7 fees & procedures

[charande2014]

ackground:

I initially filed a ch13 and made payments for a year. During the time, I realized that I could not continue to afford my payments due to constantly having to struggle. After juggling the #'s over & over again, I came to the conclusion that i can no longer afford the payments under no circumstances. Coinicidently I received a letter from my ch13 attorney discharging his duties because they fullfilled all of their obligations (standard in my state that after 1yr successfully under the plan, attorney will file discharge papers).

I went back to my attorney explained to him that I could no longer affored the ch13 plan and wanted to file a chp 7. He informed me that I would need to show a drastic change of circumstances (i.e. loss of income due to losing my job). Lo and behold, my job eliminated my position so I'm out of a job. My attorney advise me to wait at least 30 days before filing a notice to convert to a ch7. All the above information I'm good with.

In anticipation of no longer working, I'm trying to get a better idea of my finances. I ask my lawyer what his fee would be regarding this matter and stated that he charges $$$ plus a $29 court cost.

My question is this

1. Is it normal to charge $$$ (= more than $300 but less than $800) to file a ch13 to ch7 conversion? What is an avg price for this service?

2. is it to my advantage use the same attorney since he filed the original paperwork or should I shop around for a cheaper attorney to do the filing?

[justbroke]

1. Is it normal to charge $$$ (= more than $300 but less than $800) to file a ch13 to ch7 conversion? What is an avg price for this service?

I can't tell you the average price, but $750 is probably a good number. It really depends on what the attorney needs to address with your Chapter 7, such as any redemption of vehicles (or other property), reaffirmations, or other contested matters. The $26 is just the difference in the filing fee.

2. is it to my advantage use the same attorney since he filed the original paperwork or should I shop around for a cheaper attorney to do the filing?

If you didn't use the same attorney, expect to pay at least double what your attorney is offering. Unless your attorney is incompetent, there is no reason to change attorneys. From what I read above, your attorney is proceeding the correct way (conversion via "notice" rather than "motion") so unless there are some real issues related to the attorney's law practice, I would stay with that attorney.