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Frequently Asked Questions
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Below are answers to questions commonly-asked by my clients. Click on the question to which you want the answer, and you automatically be taken to the answer (or you can simply scroll down below).
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How much does it cost total?
Do you pay the court filing fee out of the money I give you?
How much do I have to pay you upfront?
How much do I have to pay before you will file it?
Do you have a money-back guarantee?
Does a married couple cost more than a single person?
What do you mean by "self-employed"?
Do you accept payment by credit card?
What does the credit counseling cost? Do you pay for that out of the money I give to you?
If I change my mind about filing bankruptcy after I have retained you but before you have filed, will I get any of my money back?
Will you run a credit report for me?
Can I make payments to you? How does that work?
What happens to money I give you other than the filing fee?
I want to do the bankruptcy myself. Will you give me the forms?
I am not in Oklahoma. Can you represent me?
Is court always in the county where I live?
Is there anything I can do to make things move faster?
Your office is far from me. Must I travel to retain you?
Do you take faraway cases? If so, do you charge extra?
In what bankruptcy courts and locations have you appeared?
What are the "Districts," and how do I know mine?
What court-approved credit counseling and/or financial management agencies are currently available?
So do I need to do my credit counseling before I come see you?
So what is the "financial management" course? Are there two different counseling sessions?
How much does it cost total?
That depends. It depends upon how many jobs you and any spouse, regardless of whether that spouse is filing with you, have worked in the six-month period prior to your retaining me. Explain your job and income situation to me, and I can give you a straight answer.
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Do you pay the court filing fee out of the money I give you?
Well, yes. Typically, it is the 2nd installment payment, in the amount of $299, which I receive from you.
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How much do I have to pay you upfront?
I prefer to have the entire flat fee upfront. While I must have at least all but $300.00 of the entire amount before I will file your case, I will meet you and/or begin work on your case if you have as little as $300.00 in hand.
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How much do I have to pay before you will file it?
At least $599. If married and both people work, add $100. If you've owned a business or been self-employed within the last five years, add $100.
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Do you have a money-back guarantee?
Yes, but only to this extent: If your bankruptcy filed under Chapter 7 is converted to Chapter 13 or just outright dismissed, I will give you a full refund of what you have paid me. Because I will refund you all your money, I will ultimately end up being the $299 court filing fee and losing not only time but $299 worth of money on the case. In over 500 Chapter 7 bankruptcies, I have never had a case converted to a Chapter 13 and have had only 1 case get dismissed (due to my client not ever appearing in court despite multiple continued court hearings). I am supposed to say, however, that past performances does not guarantee future results. But, yes, if I screw it up and it is not due to your committing fraud, failing to disclose something obviously significant to me, or failing to appear at court, I will give you a full refund.
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Does a married couple cost more than a single person?
It depends. If your spouse does not work, then no. If so, then yes, as I charge an additional $100.00 per source of income from work.
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What do you mean by "self-employed"?
Self-employed applies to any person who has been a sole proprietor or partner of a business or a director or owner of a corporation or LLC or who otherwise has had a business or been self-employed within the last 5 years. The term even applies if the Client is married, the Clients spouse is not filing bankruptcy, and only the Clients spouse was self-employed and not the client.
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Do you accept payment by credit card?
No, not directly. Besides the fact that all are not supposed to be charging up your credit cards at the last minute before filing bankruptcy (it is presumed to be fraud), it costs me a certain monthly fee to have use of a credit-card machine, and I have found that very few clients ask me the above question and have no problem paying by other means of payment. However, if you have a PayPal account with a credit card account set up through them, you can pay me that way. My PayPal account is registered under the e-mail address jk_mitchell@sbcglobal.net. For more information on PayPal, visit their website at http://www.paypal.com.
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What does the credit counseling cost? Do you pay for that out of the money I give to you?
Currently, it ranges anywhere from $0 to $50 per person for the pre-petition credit counseling and then again for the financial management course. No, I do not pay for it out of the money you give me. Typically, it is the only additional expense you must pay for on your own. The agency you use can inform you of the cost in advance.
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If I change my mind about filing bankruptcy after I have retained you but before you have filed, will I get any of my money back?
Yes. I will keep $301 for my work in preparing the bankruptcy, and you will be refunded the amount which was to be used to pay your court filing fee, which is $299.
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Will you run a credit report for me?
Yes, I will run one through Experion. It costs me $12.50 for a single person, and $22.50 for a married couple. I pay the costs out of what you give me and don't ask you for any additional money to pay that cost. If you want it run a credit report through all three bureaus, you can do so yourself and pay for it yourself.
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Can I make payments to you? How does that work?
In a way. Not in the sense that you can pay some small amount such as $100 per month, but more like $300 per month. You are going to have to pay at least $300 before I will accept your case (More than that if you live in a dual-income household and/or have been self-employed within the last five years). After you make your initial payment, I will then prepare your paperwork and send it to you. Usually you receive the completed bankruptcy paperwork in the mail from me, for you to approve, approximately one week after meeting with me and/or providing me with all the documentation I need to prepare your bankruptcy. Regardless, I require the $299 filing fee within 30 days after your first payment. If I do not receive it within that time, I am forced to dig further paystubs and financial information out of you to update and re-do your income information for the Court prior to filing. This often results in more work for me; and, if so, I may require an additional $100 before I will file the bankruptcy. In any event, the final $300 payment is due within 30 days after the filing of your bankruptcy case. Your court date, which the Court sets automatically at the time your bankruptcy is filed, will typically fall about 4 to 5 weeks out after the filing date, and I prefer to be paid in full prior to the court appearance.
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What happens to money I give you other than the filing fee?
It goes to me for my hard work.
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I want to do the bankruptcy myself. Will you give me the forms?
No. I am an attorney operating a law office seeking to represent you, not some unlicensed person seeking to make money in the legal arena from people who wish to try to do their own bankruptcies. Fortunately, I have a law license and a juris doctorate degree. Unfortunately, however, I incurred substantial student loans and worked through college and law school for more than 7 years to obtain this degree and this license. Like most of you, I have bills to pay; unlike you, I cannot get out of paying them by filing bankruptcy.
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I am not in Oklahoma. Can you represent me?
Probably not. You need to have resided in Oklahoma for at least 6 months to establish residency. You must have residency in order to file bankruptcy in Oklahoma.
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Is court always in the county where I live?
No. Bankruptcy courts are divisions of the federal court system. Consequently, they have nothing to do with your local county or district court. There are only three federal districts in Oklahoma. I can tell you where you will go to Court if you tell me the town in which you live.
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Is there anything I can do to make things move faster?
First of all, get copies of all requested information to me that is bulleted toward the end of my Bankruptcy Client Interview Form, downloadable in Microsoft Word format from my FORMS page. Secondly, do your mandatory credit counseling at an agency approved by the Court having jurisdiction over you. To locate such an agency, go to this link: http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/ccde/cc_approved.htm
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Your office is far from me. Must I travel to retain you?
No. Perhaps you do not feel like doing the drive. If so, we can do the initial paperwork and retainer agreement by mail, and after that we can conduct all communications by telephone, mail, and/or e-mail. I have several out-of-state and long-distance clients, or clients who are in the local and Tulsa metropolitan area but who just do not feel like taking the time to travel to my office. In fact, I have several out-of-state clients who have never actually set foot in my office, many of whom I will never meet in person. If a document needs to be signed, I can mail it to you with a return envelope enclosed, and you can sign it and mail it back to me. In the alternative, I can e-mail it to you, and you can print it out and sign it and mail it back to me--whatever works best for you.
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Do you take faraway cases? If so, do you charge extra?
Yes. How far you live from my office is irrelevant to me since I will not have to travel to your residence. Rather, that all depends on whether or not you are willing to travel to see me or if you are comfortable with simply conducting business by mail. As far as my physical distance from any of the courts or creditor meetings locations, you need not worry about that either. I can always decline to take a case if I wish, and I generally turn down cases for people residing in the Lawton area or Southwestern corner of the state, since the drive to the creditor's meeting in Lawton is quite long for me. But I regularly go to Tulsa and Okmulgee and also to OKC, Guthrie and Enid. For these last three places I mentioned, which lie in the Western District, I charge an additional $100.00 upfront to cover my gasoline and additional travel time.
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In what bankruptcy courts and locations have you appeared?
All of them in this state. I have appeared at all three bankruptcy courts in Oklahoma and at every existing creditor's meeting location of which I am aware.
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What are the "Districts," and how do I know mine?
"Northern District," "Eastern District," and "Western District" are designated areas based upon federal-court jurisdiction. I can tell you which district you are in if you tell me the town in which you live.
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What court-approved credit counseling and/or financial management agencies are currently available?
You can find a list for each of them on my INTERNET LINKS page. They are sorted by federal district.
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So do I need to do my credit counseling before I come see you?
No. You just need to do the pre-petition credit counseling before we can file your bankruptcy. Typically, I provide you with an up-to-date list of available agencies when you retain me, and within the week after that you get your credit counseling done while I am preparing your bankruptcy paperwork.
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So what is the "financial management" course? Are there two different counseling sessions?
Yes. The pre-petition counseling is done before bankruptcy. The financial management part of it you do not worry about until later. You get that done after you have filed bankruptcy and no later than 45 days after your scheduled court date. Neither session typically takes more than a few hours of your time. I can answer questions you may have about the process.
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