Bankruptcy Law

Federal law says that I have to describe myself as a “debt relief agency,” and note that I help people file for bankruptcy. Those legally-required descriptions are true, as far as they go, but they don’t tell the whole story. A bankruptcy attorney—any bankruptcy attorney—ought to review your financial situation and work through your options. That may include filing a bankruptcy; most people who think they need to file for bankruptcy protection are right. But what may be best for you could be challenging a creditor who claims that you owe them money, or any of a great many options for addressing your situation.

Frequently, people who call are worried that recent changes in bankruptcy law will prevent them from obtaining relief from their creditors in bankruptcy. The law was revised in 2005 and the revisions were intended to tighten the relief that could be obtained by debtors. However, the new law does not generally prevent people who need relief from filing for bankruptcy. You can still obtain a discharge from medical debt. You can still obtain a discharge from credit card debt. And you can still obtain relief from virtually all of the sorts of debt that you could before the law changed.

In order to figure out what your best options are, I will need a good deal of information from you. I usually start out by having potential clients provide documents and fill out a questionnaire regarding their financial situation. I know that it is long and complicated. Nobody fills it out perfectly, just do your best. You can call the office and we will send you one, or you can download and print one out from here. (You’ll need Adobe Reader to see it, you can download that from here if you don’t have it already). Remember that just downloading the questionnaire does not make me your attorney or you my client. In order to establish an attorney-client relationship, we will need to communicate with each other and do that specifically. I’m providing the questionnaire on line because for some people that will be the most convenient way to get it.

Please call us at 620-326-5997 if you have any questions.

How Much Does It Cost?

I typically charge a base fee of $1150 for ordinary consumer bankruptcies under Chapter 7 and $2300 to $3600 for ordinary bankruptcies in Kansas under Chapter 13. The base fee for a Chapter 13 in the Western District of Oklahoma is $2500. A copy of my current fee agreement is here. There are also filing fees of $310 to $335 that must be paid to the court.

Work for creditors is generally billed at my ordinary hourly rate of $225.00 per hour.

How Can I Pay for It?

I am usually able to work out some sort of arrangement with my clients that gives them the ability to pay for a bankruptcy in a way that is reasonable for the client. We can talk about your particular situation and try to put together a plan that works for you.