As of December 2020, it costs $338 for court fees to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 and $313 to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 13. You may be allowed to pay the filing fee in installments if you cannot pay all at once. In addition to the filing fee, you will likely have fees for an attorney as well.
In general, you can expect it to take around three to four months on average to complete Chapter 7 bankruptcy and have your debts discharged. However, if there are objections from creditors or other complications, it could take much longer.
Disadvantages of Bankruptcy: A bankruptcy may impede your chances of getting a mortgage or car loan for some time. Not all debt will be discharged. Examples of debt that cannot be discharged include child support, alimony, some student loans, divorce settlements and some income taxes.
If you are using the New York State exemptions the amount of cash you can exempt is $2,500 unless you own a home and plan on using the New York Homestead exemption. If you are using the Homestead exemption which can protect up to $150,000 in home equity in New York City then you may only exempt $2,500 in cash.
The answer depends on whether you file pro se (without an attorney), with an attorney or pay a petition preparer to prepare your paperwork. I will try to outline the typical costs for each:
The filing fees recently increased to $306 for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, $281 for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and $1,213 for a Chapter 11 filing.
In order to obtain a bankruptcy discharge the Credit Counseling course must be taken before a case is filed and the debtor education must be taken after a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case is filed. These courses can range from $0 to $500 each depending on where they are taken.
In my opinion a credit report is one of the most valuable tools necessary to prepare a consumer bankruptcy petition. At my office we use a company called A Suite Solution, which provides an ultra comprehensive 3-bureau credit report as well as a thorough public records search.
If you are looking for the cheapest way to file for bankruptcy, you can file pro se or without an attorney. If you prepare your own paperwork the process is free. If you have a petition preparer your case will not be free. I have heard that these preparers charge from $200 to $2000 to “construct” your paperwork.
Legal fees vary from attorney to attorney. However, you should know a few things. First, all bankruptcy attorneys are required to report their legal fees charged for each case to the US Trustee. If the fee is too high they may be required to refund it to the client.