Questions to Ask a Bankruptcy Lawyer
Questions for deciding whether to hire a particular bankruptcy lawyer: how much consumer bankruptcy they actually do, who prepares the paperwork and who appears at hearings, what the flat fee covers and excludes, how they handle complications, and how to reach them.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How much of your practice is consumer bankruptcy, and roughly how many cases did you file last year?
Why ask it
Volume matters here because the paperwork is procedural and the local trustees are known quantities. A general practitioner who files a handful of cases a year is not necessarily wrong for you, but you should know that is what you are hiring.
Do you handle both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, or mainly one of them?
Why ask it
Some firms are set up for straightforward Chapter 7 work and refer anything longer running elsewhere. If your situation might need a repayment plan, you want that capability in the same office from the start.
Of the Chapter 13 plans you file, how many get confirmed, and how many run to completion?
Why ask it
Ask this rather than asking about a success rate, which has no fixed meaning in bankruptcy. Confirmation and completion are things a lawyer tracks, and a candid answer will acknowledge that many plans fail for reasons outside anyone's control.
Are you board certified in bankruptcy law, or a member of a bankruptcy bar association?
Why ask it
Neither is required to do good work, and their absence is not a red flag. Their presence is a checkable signal of specialisation, which is useful when you have little else to compare on.
Will you personally attend my hearings, or does someone else cover them?
Why ask it
Firms that file in volume often send whoever is available that morning. That can work perfectly well, but you should know before the day rather than meeting your representative in a corridor.
Who prepares my schedules, and who reviews them before filing?
Why ask it
Paralegals prepare most petitions, which is normal. What you want to hear is that a lawyer reads the finished schedules against your documents, because errors in that paperwork cause most of the trouble that follows.
What is your fee, what does it cover, and what falls outside it?
Why ask it
Get the exclusions in writing: amended schedules, motions, creditor objections, converting between chapters, reaffirmation agreements. A quote that sounds much lower than others usually covers less.
Do you offer payment plans, and can your fee be paid through a Chapter 13 plan instead of up front?
Why ask it
In many Chapter 13 cases the fee can be paid through the plan, which changes what you need on day one. For Chapter 7, fees are generally paid before filing, and it is fair to ask why.
How many active cases are you carrying at the moment?
Why ask it
You are not looking for a specific number, you are looking for whether they know it. Someone who cannot say has less of a grip on their own workload than you would want.
How quickly do you return calls, and who can answer a question when you are in court?
Why ask it
This is the most common complaint about bankruptcy representation. Ask for a named contact and a normal response time, and treat a promise of constant availability with some scepticism.
Have you appeared before the trustees who handle cases in this district?
Why ask it
Trustees have known preferences about documents and about how the meeting runs. A lawyer who works this district regularly will be able to tell you what your trustee tends to ask, which is a small but genuine advantage.
If a creditor keeps calling or garnishing after I file, what do you do?
Why ask it
You want the specific action, a letter, a phone call, a motion, rather than an assurance that it will not happen. Ask whether pursuing it costs extra, because that answer varies between firms.
Have you handled cases with facts like mine, and can you describe one?
Why ask it
Name your complication out loud: a business, a recent transfer, a second property, tax debt, an ex-spouse on a mortgage. A general assurance that they have seen everything is not the same as an account of a comparable case.
What do clients most often do that causes problems in a case?
Why ask it
The answers are practical and worth having before you start: incomplete documents, using credit after the consultation, not disclosing a side income, missing the required courses. It also shows what they will chase you about.
How often do your cases get dismissed, and what are the usual reasons?
Why ask it
Dismissals mostly come from missing paperwork, missed payments or missed courses. A lawyer who says it never happens is either newly practising or not being straight with you.
What happens, and what does it cost, if a creditor objects or the trustee challenges something?
Why ask it
This is the most common way a flat fee turns into a larger bill. Ask for the hourly rate that would apply and an estimate of how often it comes up in cases like yours.
If my case turns out to be complicated, would you keep it or refer it on?
Why ask it
An honest answer about the limits of their practice is a good sign. What you want to avoid is discovering mid-case that the work is beyond the firm, which is expensive in both money and time.
If we needed to convert from one chapter to another, how would that be handled and charged?
Why ask it
Conversion is not unusual, particularly when income changes after filing. Knowing the process and the additional cost in advance prevents an unwelcome conversation at a difficult moment.
What do you need from me, and by when, to be ready to file?
Why ask it
A clear, itemised list with dates tells you the office is organised. Vagueness here usually predicts the delays that later get blamed on missing documents.
Is there a former client I could speak to, or reviews you would point me to?
Why ask it
Most lawyers cannot give out client names because of confidentiality, and saying so is the correct answer rather than an evasion. Ask instead for their standing with the state bar, and check it yourself.
Choosing who to hire
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
How to compare candidates
See more than one
Consultations in consumer bankruptcy are usually free, and seeing two or three makes the differences visible. Ask each the same three questions about fees, hearings and complications, and compare the answers rather than the manner.
Check the licence and the discipline record
Your state bar publishes whether a lawyer is in good standing and whether there have been disciplinary actions. It takes a few minutes and is the single most useful check you can make.
Read the engagement letter before signing
It should state the fee, what it covers, what is billed separately, who does the work, and what happens if you stop the case. If any of those is missing, ask for it to be added rather than accepting a verbal answer.
Cost questions worth pressing on
- Whether the quoted fee includes the court filing fee and the two required courses, or whether those are additional.
- What an amended schedule costs, since amendments are common.
- What happens to the fee if the case is dismissed or you decide not to file.
- Whether a Chapter 13 fee is paid through the plan, and what happens to the balance if the plan fails.
- Whether there is an hourly rate for anything, and what it is.
Be cautious about
- Anyone who guarantees a discharge or a specific outcome. No lawyer controls the trustee or the court.
- A fee that is far below the others in your area. Look at what has been excluded rather than assuming a bargain.
- Petition preparers and debt relief companies that are not law firms. They cannot give legal advice or represent you at a hearing, and the paperwork remains your responsibility.
- Pressure to file this week when nothing in your situation is urgent, and equally, reassurance to wait when a foreclosure or garnishment date is approaching.
- An office where nobody will tell you who will actually appear with you at the meeting of creditors.
If cost is the obstacle
- Ask about a payment plan before filing, which many firms offer for Chapter 7.
- Ask whether your income qualifies you for a legal aid office or a law school clinic that handles bankruptcy.
- Ask the court clerk about a filing fee waiver or instalments, which exist for lower incomes.
- Ask whether a Chapter 13 plan could carry the legal fees, and what that adds to the monthly payment.
- Filing without a lawyer is permitted, and it is worth asking any lawyer you consult which parts of your particular case would be difficult to handle alone.