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There are two aspects of this
Firm's Chapter 13 fee. The first is a
pre-petition sum which was earned at the time the case was filed, and paid
directly to council prior to the filing of the petition in bankruptcy. This sum
generally includes meeting with the client, review of pre-prepared financial
information, discussing options under the various Chapters of Title 11,
discussion of the rights and responsibilities of an ongoing Chapter 13 case,
and preparing, filing, and serving all required petitions, schedules, and
disclosures. This portion of the fee includes $185.00 court filing fee
and is generally $975.
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The second part of
the Firm's Chapter 13 fee agreement represents
post-petition expenses and services. This sum generally includes preparing,
filing, and serving the Chapter 13 Plan, Plan Summary, meeting with the
client and representation at the §341 Meeting of Creditors, and all
necessary documents required to confirm a Chapter 13 Plan. This may include
amendments to the debtor client's schedules and/or proposed Chapter 13 Plan,
and attendance at a contested confirmation hearing if objections cannot be
dealt with through negotiation, and generally all normally occurring matters
up to and including confirmation.
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Compensation for all post-petition services, based on
actual time spent and services provided, will be sought on an Application
for Professional Compensation to be paid by the Chapter 13 Trustee under the
terms of the Debtors' Chapter 13 Plan. ALL BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY'S FEES ARE
ALLOWED ONLY WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT.
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The fee for attorney time doing Chapter 13 work
is currently $185.00 per
hour. When the case is confirmed, an application for approval of
an appropriate fee is required in every case. If allowed, the post-petition portion of the fee will be
paid under the Plan.
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The attorney will estimate, for the benefit of the client, the
balance of fees and expenses to be sought under the Plan during an initial
interview. This firm generally will write the request for payment down to that sum if the
application does not significantly differ from the estimated sum. Only actual earned fees will be
requested, and if the estimated sum is not earned, it will not be
requested in full.
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Normal post-petition Chapter 13 services include dealing
with the Chapter 13 Trustee, providing the necessary documents per his or
her requests, required amendments to the Plan or petition when there was errors
caused by this office in the compilation process, and minor valuation
disputes.
- Normal post-petition Chapter 13 services do not include
the following:
- dealing with non-disclosed creditors and their
claims,
- selling, purchasing, refinancing, or other
transfer of real property;
- selling, purchasing, trading, refinancing, or
other transfer of personal property, including motor vehicles;
- application for or denial of credit post-petition,
- any matter related to credit reports or credit
reporting agencies,
- relief from Chapter 13 Plan payments or other
modifications to a confirmed Chapter 13 Plan,
- conversion or dismissal of the instant case,
- dealing with rude or belligerent client phone
calls. (We are good at creditor calls).
- Normal fees in a Chapter 13 case do not include
post-confirmation matters. Any activity occurring after the
application for compensation has been filed cannot be included in
the application. This office does, for a fee, represent many of its
post-confirmation Chapter 13 clients who request post-confirmation
assistance.
MODIFICATION
Plan modifications can occur anytime after
confirmation. The scope of amending is somewhat restricted and all the
rules that apply to the original confirmation still apply to intended
modifications. Normally plan modifications are done by fixed fee
agreement and can be under the plan or in advance outside the plan.
Fees range from $300 to $800, depending on the number of creditors and
likelihood of a contest.
CONVERSION A Chapter 13 that has not previously been
converted from another Chapter can be converted to Chapter 7 by a
debtor as a matter of right. This loses the benefit of the Chapter 13
but does allow the bankruptcy to cover those debts incurred between
the date of filing and the date of conversion.
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