Bankruptcy
The filing cost for Chapter 7 is $306.00. The filing cost for Chapter 13 is $284.00
In a Chapter 13 debt reorganization plan, 100% of our fee is deferred into the Chapter 13 plan to be paid upon approval by the court. The fee is paid indirectly to the attorney as part of a "cram down" by the Chapter 13 Trustee. You file the case without paying for the pre-filing work which includes the preparation of all of the bankruptcy papers, the chapter 13 plan, statement of financial affairs, any pre-bankruptcy planning that may be necessary and pre-bankruptcy negotiation with your creditors. Thus, our firms motto "where zero means more". The fee's to the attorney which are eventually approved by the court, do not affect your plan payment and are paid out of the general fund in a "cramdown", at the expense of unsecured creditors.
Chapter 7 is a much simpler form of bankruptcy and is the most common form of bankruptcy. You pay the attorney a retainer in advance either in a lump sum or on a payment plan. We accept a $100.00 down payment on your retainer to start a chapter 7 case with our office. Initiating a retainer allows you to tell your creditors "Call my Attorney".
Personal Injury
The personal injury matters that we handle are all done on a "No Recovery No Fee" retainer.
You pay nothing, unless we win the case by recovering either a settlement or a verdict. Our office covers the filing fee and other costs associated with your case on your behalf. This includes the costs of depositions, court stenographers, medical records, expert witness's subpoenas and so on.
If we recover money these costs are deducted off the top before the settlement money is disbursed to you.
There are also attorneys fee's associated in representing you in the matter. There is a flat fee of 25% of the settlement or 331/3 percent of the verdict if the case goes to trial. If there is no recovery you owe no money to us for our efforts.
Family Court
If you spouses has filed for divorce, child custody or other family court matters, you have only 30 days to file a responsive pleading, or a default judgment can be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint. The family court charges a $435.00 fee for the first set of papers filed by either the petitioner or respondent.
Our fee's in family court are fair and reasonable Flat Fee retainers, so that you as the client knows exactly what the case is going to cost you when you enter into a retainer.
DUI and Criminal Defense
There are no filing costs associated with being represented in a criminal matter. However, some criminal defense matters can become quite costly if there is a need to retain expert witnesses in forensic areas, such as DNA analysis, accident reconstruction, mental competency, and so on, and to present their findings an analysis in a jury trial.
Most cases such as DUI matters are not that complicated, and we can usually go to court with you and anticipate a plea negotiation that can keep you out of jail for a relatively small retainer.
