How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Bankruptcy Attorney In San Jose CA?
Declaring bankruptcy is a stressful turn of events that are full of formalities and legalities. Though it is not necessary to hire a bankruptcy attorney in San Jose CA, having one by your side will ease things out and smoothen the process. Bankruptcy attorneys not only help with the paperwork but also help you to protect your property, save you from creditors while guiding you towards a secured financial future.
The American legal system outlines two methods of declaring bankruptcy, namely, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. While Chapter 7 lets you to eliminate few types of debts, barring those which are not protected by state exemptions, Chapter 13 can be utilized when you are not eligible for Chapter 7 clauses. In the latter Chapter though most of the assets are protected, you are required to enter into a ‘court-mandated payment plan’ for paying back the creditors. The repayment schedule can run up to 3-5 years.
While processing fees for Chapter 13 is more (since the time involved is more), there are other factors too which affect the cost of hiring a bankruptcy attorney in San Jose CA. They are:
The experience of the lawyer, The billing method used by the attorney and the charges thereof, Time needed to complete the bankruptcy process, Amount spent on legal process such as filing fees etc.
You can hire a San Jose CA attorney in two different ways, that is, on an hourly basis or on a flat fee.
Hiring Attorney on an Hourly Basis While settling for an hourly payment basis with an attorney, there are a few things you should know. In most cases you will be asked for a retainer fees a payment structure that is similar to down payment. When paying retainer fees, you will get monthly bills for the number of hours the lawyer has worked. Moreover, the San Jose CA lawyers also break an hour into one-quarter (15 minutes) and one-tenth of an hour (6 minutes). For example, if your attorney charges $200 per hour and you have a 15 minutes session with him, you will have to pay him $50 while for a 6 minutes conversation you will have to pay $20.
The hourly rates of an attorney will depend on his years of experience, your location and distance from the attorney, the complexity of the case and the overhead cost.
Hiring Attorney on A Flat Fee Basis Leaving apart court fees and other processing fees, many attorneys also work on a flat fee basis. In such cases the work involved would include writing a will or filing for bankruptcy. While hiring attorneys on a flat fee basis, it is important to know what to pay for and what not to pay for. While flat fees may cost you less in the beginning, they are usually non-refundable. Thus you have to be sure that you are confident of the attorney and will not have problem with him later on.
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