What are the Fees for Filing Bankruptcy in Arizona?
Arizona bankruptcy attorneys often hear the same question when they meet with their clients for the first time. People always want to know if there is a filing fee for bankruptcy. When their attorney explains that there is a fee, they all say the same thing. They wonder why the court thinks they’re filing bankruptcy. If they had the money for that sort of thing, they wouldn’t need to file bankruptcy in the first place. As much as we understand how frustrating this can be, the filing fee is a small price to pay in order to get all your other debt discharged.
You Will Have to Pay a Filing Fee for a Bankruptcy
As mentioned above, you do have to pay a filing fee if you want to file your petition for bankruptcy. If you’re filing a Chapter 7, the fee is $338. For a Chapter 13, the fee is slightly lower, at $313. A lot of people don’t have the full amount upfront. You can ask the court to work with you. If you can prove that your income is less than 150% of the poverty line, you can request that the fee be waived. Just keep in mind – the courts rarely honor this request. The other option is to make payments. If this is what you intend to do, you have to pay $80 down and then make an installment agreement for the rest. This has to be approved by the court. Your Arizona bankruptcy attorney will make sure you get your payments in on time. If you miss a payment, your petition will be dismissed. And, you only have fourteen (14) days to make your first payment. If you don’t make partial or full payment within the two weeks, your case will be closed, and you’ll have to start all over again. It’s also important to understand that your bankruptcy won’t proceed until all of your payments have been made. The court isn’t going to proceed with a petition if there’s a chance it’s going to be dismissed weeks after it is opened.
Can’t Your Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Pay the Fee for You?
Even if your Arizona bankruptcy attorney wanted to pay the filing fee for you, they can’t. It goes against the rules of professional conduct. Your lawyer can certainly help you fill out the paperwork to get approved for a payment plan. They can also talk to the trustee to find out if they’d be willing to waive the fee or allow you to make payments. The goal of the trustee isn’t to deny your petition or make it impossible for you to file. They just want to make sure everybody files the rules and that only the people who truly qualify for bankruptcy are able to file.
Call and Set Up a Meeting with an Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney
There are a lot of things you can handle yourself. For example, if you get a traffic ticket and plan to pay it, you may not need to hire a lawyer. The same is true if you and your neighbor are fighting over a property line. But if you’re thinking about filing bankruptcy, it’s probably not the best idea to handle it on your own. If you make one small mistake, you’ll have to start all over. Not only can this be frustrating, but it can get expensive as well. It’s in your best interest to call and request to meet with one of our experienced Arizona bankruptcy attorneys as soon as possible so you can get the ball rolling on your bankruptcy petition.
