Is There A Way to Avoid Court Filing Fees?
The filing fee for Chapter 7 bankruptcy is currently $335. In order to avoid paying a court filing fee for bankruptcy in the Central District, you can apply for a fee waiver. There is an option to allow people to apply to waive the court filing fee in bankruptcy or to pay for the filing fee in installments. An application for the fee waiver or fee installment plan can be found here:
http://www.cacb.uscourts.gov/sites/cacb/files/documents/forms/FeeWaivInstall.pdf
The fee waiver or installment plan can allow you to file for bankruptcy without paying the bankruptcy filing fee up front. The application basically includes a statement with your income and expenses along with a bit more financial information. The forms are fairly self-explanatory and are simple to fill out. There is a form to get the fee paid in an installment plan and there is a whole separate form that is an application to get the fees waived completely. Keep in mind that the final outcome of the application is decided on by a judge of the bankruptcy court. You could possibly be instructed to go into a hearing with the judge if the clerk decides that you need to see the judge, or the application can be accepted without a hearing. The application needs to be submitted to the clerk of the bankruptcy court.
Unfortunately, a fee waiver cannot be submitted if you are using an attorney to represent you in the bankruptcy filing. If you feel you need an attorney to help you with the bankruptcy process, you will not be able to submit a fee waiver or fee installment plan to off-set the fees. This does not mean that you should not hire an attorney for the bankruptcy. It is highly recommended that you use an attorney for your bankruptcy to make sure that you can complete the filing in a timely manner. You may never be able to plan to avoid the court filing fee because it is decided by a judge whether the filing fee can be waived or not. It is not a good idea to avoid using an attorney just to save on the filing fee. Paying the filing fee and using an attorney to help with the bankruptcy process may, in the long run, save you more money by keeping you on track and completing the bankruptcy filing in one filing. You should be able to find a lower priced bankruptcy attorney that fits your needs.
Bankruptcy Law Professionals is a bankruptcy law firm based in California’s Southern District. We service clients in Orange County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County. To contact us for an immediate consultation, please call 855 257-7671.
