YOU NEED A LAWYER. Bankruptcy law is complex. As I said, it’s not easy keeping up. While it is perfectly legal for you to represent yourself, it would probably be one of the biggest mistakes you could ever make.

One way to find a competent bankruptcy attorney is through the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA), an organization of which I have been a long-standing member. Click on the Attorney Finder link and follow the instructions to locate a qualified bankruptcy attorney near you.

There are no set legal fees for bankruptcy. Subject to bankruptcy court approval, bankruptcy lawyers can charge whatever they want. You can expect legal fees for a Chapter 7 case to be in the range of $1,000 to $2,500, especially if the case involves a business or is otherwise complicated. If you hire a lawyer to rescue a case that you tried to file yourself, you should expect to pay more. Likewise, if you retain a lawyer shortly before a scheduled foreclosure sale, you should expect the fees to be higher because your lawyer will have to drop other work in order to focus on your emergency. As is often the case, it pays to plan ahead!