Step 2: What does a bankruptcy cost?

For the vast majority of cases when we are paid $200.00 we are retained and you can refer creditors to our office. This $200.00 is applied towards the balance of your attorneys fees. This stops creditor harassment. In a Chapter 7 the law requires that we be paid the fee before the case is filed. If it is determined that you will need a Chapter 13 the majority of the fees are paid after the case is filed through the Chapter 13 plan. When you meet with us, and often when you discuss your case over the phone, we are able to quote you the fee for filing a bankruptcy. We understand the pressure you have been under and will work with you to make bankruptcy affordable so you can file bankruptcy and solve your financial problems.

 

Why choose Olsen, Olsen, and Daines?

1. You can retain our office for $200 and refer your creditors to us.
2. We don't charge a fee for an office visit or as many phone calls as you need to get your questions answered before you make this important decision.
3. We understand the emotional stress you have been under and are here to help. When we counsel with you we will get to the point. I promise that we will have definite answers to your questions.
4. We have an actual office- a physical presence where you live. We are not an "over the Internet only" law firm. You will come to our physical office to sign paperwork.
5. Our attorneys have over 100 years of bankruptcy experience. There is a definite advantage to having a "team" approach to solving often complex problems. Two minds or in our case eight minds in this complicated area are definitely better than one.
6. We file more bankruptcies to our knowledge than any other law firm in either Oregon or Washington. Again experience counts in this complex field.
7. We have experience in both chapter 7 and chapter 13 bankruptcies. Some attorneys practice only chapter 7 leaving you without all your options.
8. We have one attorney in our firm that actually specializes in suing creditors for unfair debt collection, creditor harassment, identity theft and mortgage abuse. You will have immediate help.
9. Our fees are reasonable and we will work with you to make them affordable. A significantly discounted attorney fee can be a warning. How a bankruptcy is filed can either cost you or save you money. Many have filed a bankruptcy thinking they have saved money in attorney fees never realizing that they could have filed their case in a different manner saving problems and a lot more money than they supposedly saved by going to a cheap attorney. Bankruptcy is not the same wherever you go! A little bit of knowledge can be very dangerous in this area.

This is where our experience counts.

Examples of areas where experience counts:

1. Filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy to eliminate a second mortgage. We strip 2nd mortgages from properties. We eliminate an average of a million dollars or more in 2nd mortgages for families that are keeping their homes through chapter 13 every month. We publish these results on our blog every month. .
2. Reaffirming a car loan or other secured loans that don't really need to be reaffirmed. If you reaffirm when you don't need to and later default on the car it can cost big.
3. Filing for just one spouse when the other spouse doesn't really need to file, saving the non filing spouse's credit.
4. When you only have one or two creditors- attempting to settle with these creditors for a nominal sum thus avoiding a bankruptcy.
5. Waiting an appropriate time to file in order to discharge taxes- a very complicated area that can save clients thousands.
6. Knowing how to correctly counsel clients about recently incurred debt and when exactly to file to prevent an objection by a creditor.
7. Knowing how to protect a cosigner.
8. Knowing exactly what time of year to file to save your tax refund.
9. Calculating your income under the complicated "means" test to qualify you for a regular bankruptcy without charging you for doing that.
10. Counseling you on timing of filing and calculating your budget to prevent an objection for "substantial abuse" by the US Trustees office. This is a problem we see all the time and we work hard to avoid.
11. Counsel you regarding transfers made to relatives or friends and how exactly to avoid the trustee suing your relative. We know exactly what to do saving you stress and worry.
12. Helping you structure your finances to save a business in bankruptcy.
13. Knowing when you need to file a chapter 13 or chapter 7 saving you money. There is considerable savings or cost in the type of bankruptcy that needs to be filed. Filing the wrong bankruptcy can cost you thousands when that type of bankruptcy never needed to be filed!
14. Counseling you on 941 employee withholding taxes and what bankruptcy can be filed to solve that problem and advising when the IRS will not pursue those taxes- sometimes saving thousands of dollars.
15. How to preserve your contractors license or get your drivers license back. We are experienced in solving these difficult problems. We have sued the state to enforce our clients' rights and return the licenses they need to support themselves and their families.
16. How to deal with credit unions. Credit Unions often take an aggressive stance in bankruptcy. We do not just cave in. We know how to deal with them to save our clients' money. Many people unnecessarily pay a credit union money they don't need to pay.
17. What you can do to legally hang on to your car a little longer when you need it and it is eventually going back.
18. Helping you stay in your home for sometimes many months avoiding rent.
19. Because we file so many cases we know the hot button issues to avoid in bankruptcy to save our clients problems.
20. We know how to draft chapter 13 plans that will save you money by paying your creditors that charge interest before those that don't. Often resulting in significant savings. We know how to draft a plan to give you time to sell a home to save your equity.
21. A lot of times in a chapter 13 there are a change of circumstances. We will be there after the chapter 13 confirmed ready and able to modify your plan to solve your problems under the existing circumstances. There is a great comfort in having a firm that has "been there-done that" thousands of times.
22. OlsenDaines will be there years after the bankruptcy to answer your questions at no charge. We help our clients in rebuilding credit after the bankruptcy is over.
23. Knowing why, when and how to file a bankruptcy so your children get your property when you pass away, not your creditors.

This is just a partial list why you need expert help. However just because there is a problem area that you recognize doesn't mean it will be a problem in your particular case. Solving a so called problem that isn't really a problem can cost bankruptcy filers thousands. We will not openly criticize another attorney and we are the first to admit that there are always many issues that go into a bankruptcy decision. However this is definitely an area to make sure your attorney is very well experienced and versed in this complex field. You do not want to be a Guinea Pig.