One of the questions I always get asked whenever I tell someone I’m a bankruptcy attorney is, “How do your clients pay you if they can’t pay their bills?”
You probably won’t be surprised that it’s also a question I get asked when people come in for a free consultation to talk about whether bankruptcy is a good option for them. Unlike some other bankruptcy firms, we don’t allow clients to make installment payments on their attorney fees. Our experience is that people sometimes change their mind about filing. If they have deposited money with us and changed their mind, we have to chase them down and refund their payments. It can be an administrative and ethical nightmare. If we accepted only a portion of our fees before we filed, then we would simply become another creditor whose debt is being discharged.
We won’t try to pressure anyone into declaring bankruptcy, but once they’ve made the decision, we need our clients to be “all in”. Filing bankruptcy involves disclosing a bunch of information that only the client has. We don’t start on a petition until the client has paid our fee in full and completed their client homework, which involves answering a lengthy questionnaire and collecting vital documents.
If a potential client is struggling to gather enough money to pay our fees, we can make a few suggestions:
-Ask a family member if they would consider paying your attorney’s fees. It’s important that it not be a loan, however. A loan would have to be included on your petition and would be discharged in your bankruptcy.
-Set aside money for a few months until you have enough to pay the fees. I can’t encourage you to incur more debt if you are thinking about bankruptcy, but ask yourself about the wisdom of continuing to pay creditors whose debt you intend to discharge in the near future. Remember that not paying your creditors has serious consequences, including litigation.
Talk To An Attorney About How To Pay For Your Bankruptcy
We appreciate the difficulty that our clients face in paying our fees. We will do whatever we can to help them through this difficult time. If you are thinking about bankruptcy, consider talking to a bankruptcy attorney during a free, no-obligation consultation to talk about how he can help you navigate this complex process. You can schedule an appointment by calling 303.331.3403 or by using our online scheduling system.