Hiring A Bankruptcy Lawyer - How Much Does It Cost?

Anyone in a position where hiring a bankruptcy lawyer is a real possibility is probably going to be concerned about the cost. Ask any attorney in the field and you'll probably hear that this is the most common question they get. How much does it cost? The problem here is that this isn't a simple question to answer. There are many facets to a debt discharge case. If this is your first time down this road, it's forgivable for you to think that fussing over attorney fees is a priority. Here's why you might be asking the wrong question.

Every Case is Different

You probably realize this intellectually, but you may still believe a bankruptcy lawyer does little more than move through a prescribed checklist for each case, filling out forms, and then moving on to the next moneymaker. This is far from the case. If this were true, there would be almost no reason to hire an attorney in the first place and all of those experts saying you should would be lying. They aren't. The reason you hire legal counsel is because the path is fraught with complication and ample opportunity for mistakes to be made. If you're going through this process, you want it done right.

The Question Isn't Specific

You wouldn't ask a doctor how much surgery costs. The question barely makes any sense. The first question is going to be, "which surgery?" but even when you answer that, they are not going to be able to give you a price until they have a lot more information. Now imagine asking that question not of a doctor, but just in general. How much is surgery? It's absurd. This is more or less equivalent to asking how much it costs to hire a bankruptcy lawyer. Until you can schedule an initial consultation with someone in your area, pound out the facts and get them to understand where you're coming from, estimating the cost is going to be impossible.

Does it Matter?

Think about this for a moment. Someone very trustworthy tells you they have a foolproof investment. You give them $1000 and you are guaranteed to get $15,000 in return. Putting aside thoughts of skepticism, take the offer at face value. The person offering you the deal is incapable of lying. Would you invest the money or would you balk at the $1000 price tag? Of course you would invest. This is what you're doing when you hire a bankruptcy lawyer. If you're $100,000 in debt, are you going to balk at the $3,000 price tag to get out from under it? Of course not. Keep the larger picture in mind when evaluating the cost of hiring an attorney.