Know the fee before you decide.

Chapter 7

Qualifying scope

The $1,500 fee applies to a standard consumer Chapter 7 case: an individual, or a married couple filing jointly, with primarily consumer debts, no business to wind down, and no dispute that can be foreseen at the consultation. The fee is the same for an individual and a joint case. If your case does not fit that description, Asa will say so at the consultation and quote the fee in writing before you decide.

Included

• The consultation and advice on whether to file, and under which chapter.
• The petition, schedules, statements, and means-test forms.
• Review of the completed petition with you before filing, and electronic filing.
• Preparation for and attendance at the meeting of creditors (the §341 meeting).
• Standard amendments to the schedules.
• Reaffirmation agreements for a car or home loan you choose to keep.
• The two required courses, credit counseling before filing and debtor education after filing, arranged through an approved provider; the provider’s fee is paid by our office out of the attorney fee.
• Routine communication with the trustee through the discharge.

Not included, quoted separately

• The $338 court filing fee, which is paid to the court.
• Adversary proceedings (a lawsuit inside the bankruptcy case), for example a creditor’s objection to the discharge of a particular debt.
• Contested motions, including defending a motion to dismiss or a trustee’s objection to an exemption.
• Conversion of the case to another chapter.
• Appeals.
• Reopening a closed case.

Separately quoted work is described and priced in writing before it begins, and only with your agreement.

Payment timing

The attorney fee is due in full before the case is filed. The court filing fee is also paid before filing unless the court grants a fee waiver or an application to pay it in installments. An individual Chapter 7 filer may ask the court to waive the filing fee if household income is below 150% of the applicable poverty guideline and the fee cannot be paid even in installments. The court decides whether to grant the waiver.

If you decide not to file

If you decide not to file before the case is filed, any part of the attorney fee that has not been earned is refunded as the written agreement provides. The court filing fee is collected only when the case is ready to file, so nothing is owed to the court if the case is never filed.

The consultation is free

The first 30-minute conversation with Asa, by phone or video, is free. There is no charge for it, and no fee is owed unless you later sign a written agreement. If Asa’s advice is that you should not file, that advice is free too.

Chapter 13

How the Chapter 13 fee is paid

$1,500 of the attorney fee plus the $313 court filing fee are due before filing. The remaining $2,000 is paid through your plan: it is built into the monthly plan payment and paid to the attorney by the Chapter 13 trustee, subject to the court’s allowance of the fee. Attorney compensation in Chapter 13 is reviewed by the bankruptcy court. The amount stated here is what the agreement provides and what will be requested; the court decides what is allowed.

Included

• The consultation and advice on whether to file, and under which chapter.
• The petition, schedules, statements, means-test forms, and the Chapter 13 plan.
• Review of the completed papers with you before filing, and electronic filing.
• Preparation for and attendance at the meeting of creditors (the §341 meeting).
• The confirmation process, including routine amendments to the plan before confirmation.
• The two required courses, credit counseling before filing and debtor education during the plan, arranged through an approved provider; the provider’s fee is paid by our office out of the attorney fee.
• Routine communication with the trustee and creditors through confirmation.

Not included, quoted separately

• The $313 court filing fee, which is paid to the court.
• Adversary proceedings.
• Contested motions, including defending a motion to dismiss or for relief from the automatic stay.
• Plan modifications after confirmation, and motions to sell, refinance, or incur new debt during the plan.
• Conversion of the case to another chapter.
• Appeals.

In a Chapter 13 case, separately quoted work is also subject to court approval where the rules require it, and it is normally paid through the plan rather than out of pocket.

If the case is dismissed or you stop

If a Chapter 13 case is dismissed before the plan is completed, fees the court has allowed and the trustee has already paid through the plan are not refunded. What happens to amounts paid before filing, and to any unpaid balance, is governed by the written agreement. If you decide not to file before the case is filed, any part of the attorney fee that has not been earned is refunded as the written agreement provides.

Courses and other required charges

The Bankruptcy Code requires every individual filer to complete two short courses from a provider approved by the U.S. Trustee Program: credit counseling within the 180 days before filing, and debtor education after filing and before the discharge. Our office arranges both courses through an approved provider and pays the provider’s fee out of the attorney fee, so there is nothing for you to pay for the courses separately.

Apart from the court filing fee, there are no other required charges in a standard case. Optional costs, such as a property appraisal or a paid credit report, are discussed with you before you incur them.

When a quote becomes binding

The figures on this page describe the current standard fee and are the full attorney fee for the standard case described above; no tax or surcharge is added to them. They become binding only in a written agreement signed by you and by Asa King that describes the services, the fee, and the payment terms. Before any work beyond the consultation, you also receive the written disclosures the Bankruptcy Code requires. A written quote is honored for the period stated in it, even if the standard fee on this page changes.

Sending a consultation request does not commit you to anything and does not make any fee payable.

Other matters

Fees for creditor representation, bankruptcy litigation, and other non-consumer matters are quoted after a conflicts check and a discussion of the matter, on an hourly or flat basis as the work warrants.

Fees current as of September 8, 2026. This page is not an offer; the written agreement controls.