Paying for bankruptcy
 

Those deep enough in debt to consider bankruptcy generally don't have the cash on hand to easily fund the bankruptcy filing necessary to get relief.  

The most common way to accumulate the cash to file bankruptcy is to stop making payments on dischargeable debts, and save that money toward a bankruptcy filing.  

In the real world, it takes many weeks, if not months, for a creditor who decides to sue you to actually get a judgment that permits the creditor to seize your property or your wages.  Since lawsuits cost money, most creditors rely on nasty letters and harassing phone calls for a long while before suing.  

So, you have time to save money to pay for a bankruptcy solution.

Funding Chapter 13

In contrast to Chapter 7, Chapter 13 attorney's fees can be financed, as it were!  Usually debtors pay a portion of the attorneys fees and all of the filing fee ($194) before filing.  The balance of the fees are paid from the monthly payments that the debtor makes to the trustee by the trustee to the attorney.

What does it cost?

Attorneys fees vary from community to community and from the simple situation to the complex.  Although it may seem painful to pay money for legal advice to go bankrupt, the more assets you have or the more questions there are about the discharge of your debts, the more important it becomes to have a lawyer, as opposed to a paralegal or doing it yourself.  When you represent yourself, you may be betting your house that you know what you are doing in a bankruptcy court.

The court's filing fees are standard nationwide:  

• Chapter 7 $209

• Chapter 13 $194