A bankruptcy lawyer in Florida usually charges a flat fee of $1,200 to $3,000 for a Chapter 7 case or $3,500 to $5,000 for a Chapter 13 case. That’s the attorney’s fee only. Court filing fees and the two required financial education courses add several hundred dollars on top. Where you land inside those ranges depends on which of Florida’s three bankruptcy districts you file in, how complicated your finances are, and whether anything about your case goes beyond a routine consumer filing.
What You Pay a Chapter 7 Attorney
Most Florida attorneys handle consumer Chapter 7 cases on a flat fee. The number covers the initial consultation, preparing and filing the petition and schedules, reviewing your financial documents, and representing you at the meeting of creditors. Because the work in a routine Chapter 7 is fairly predictable, you get a single price before you commit.
Fees at the lower end apply when the case is straightforward: limited assets, no business interests, income clearly under the means test threshold. Fees climb toward $2,500 or higher when the attorney has to do extra work, such as analyzing whether specific property fits within Florida’s exemptions or handling issues with secured creditors.
What You Pay a Chapter 13 Attorney
Chapter 13 costs more because your lawyer stays involved for the entire three-to-five-year repayment plan.1United States Courts. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Basics The work includes drafting a plan the court will confirm, attending the confirmation hearing, and dealing with motions or creditor disputes that come up along the way.
Each of Florida’s three bankruptcy districts sets a “no-look” fee, meaning the amount an attorney can charge in a routine Chapter 13 case without seeking special court approval. Those amounts are:
- Southern District: $3,500 base fee for a routine case.2United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Florida. Guidelines for Compensation for Professional Services or Reimbursement of Expenses for Attorneys for Chapter 13 Debtors
- Middle District: $5,000 as the presumptively reasonable fee.3United States Bankruptcy Court Middle District of Florida. Administrative Order on Chapter 13 Attorney Fees
- Northern District: $5,000 as the normal and customary fee for a routine case.4United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Florida. Attorney Fees in Chapter 13 Cases in Accordance With Standing Order No 19
The $1,500 gap between the Southern District and the other two means where in Florida you file has a real effect on the bill. If your case involves lien stripping, creditor objections, or plan modifications, the attorney can ask the court to approve fees above the no-look amount.
Flat Fees, Retainers, and When You Pay
Nearly every consumer bankruptcy lawyer in Florida works on a flat fee rather than an hourly rate. Hourly billing shows up mainly in complex business bankruptcies or cases involving substantial litigation.
The timing of payment is where the two chapters diverge. Chapter 7 attorneys almost always require full payment before filing, because once the case is filed the unpaid fee becomes just another unsecured debt that can be discharged. There’s no way to collect it afterward.
Chapter 13 is more flexible. You pay a retainer up front and the remaining balance gets rolled into your repayment plan. The trustee then pays your attorney over the life of the plan, alongside your other creditors. In practice, that means $1,000 to $1,500 upfront can be enough to get a Chapter 13 case filed, with the rest paid gradually over three to five years.
What Makes a Case Cost More
Case complexity is the biggest cost driver. A single wage earner with a car loan and some credit card debt is about as routine as bankruptcy gets. Any of the following pushes the fee up:
- Business ownership. If you own or recently closed a business, the attorney has to account for business debts, business assets, potential creditor claims, and tax obligations that don’t exist in a consumer-only case.
- Non-exempt assets. Florida has generous exemptions, including an unlimited homestead exemption on your primary residence and a $5,000 motor vehicle exemption, but the attorney still has to map every asset against the exemption rules. Significant non-exempt property means more work and strategic decisions.5Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 222 – Exemptions
- Means test complications. If your household income sits near Florida’s median, the attorney needs a detailed means test analysis to determine whether you qualify for Chapter 7.6U.S. Trustee Program. Census Bureau Median Family Income By Family Size
- Lien stripping or creditor disputes. Removing a junior mortgage lien in Chapter 13, or defending against creditor objections to your plan or discharge, requires motions and hearings well beyond a standard filing.
Florida also requires filers to use state exemptions rather than the federal package, which adds a layer of analysis attorneys in some other states don’t deal with. If you don’t own a home and can’t use the homestead exemption, you get only a $4,000 wildcard exemption for personal property. The less cleanly your assets fit those categories, the more the case costs.
Court Filing Fees and Other Required Costs
These costs are separate from the attorney’s fee and go directly to the court or to approved providers.
Filing Fees
The court filing fee for Chapter 7 is $338, which breaks down into a $245 base fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees8United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule The Chapter 13 filing fee is $313, made up of a $235 base fee and the same $78 administrative fee.
If you can’t pay the filing fee all at once, you can apply to pay in installments. The court can split it into up to four payments over 120 days, with a possible extension to 180 days for good cause.9Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1006 – Filing Fee Chapter 7 filers can also apply to have the fee waived entirely if income is below 150% of the federal poverty level.
Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses
Federal law requires every individual filer to complete two separate courses: credit counseling before filing and debtor education after filing.10United States Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses Both must come from providers approved by the U.S. Trustee Program.11United States Department of Justice. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Information Each course typically runs $15 to $50, and most are available online. Without certificates of completion for both, the court will not discharge your debts.
Chapter 13 Trustee Fee
In Chapter 13, the standing trustee who administers your plan takes a percentage of each payment as compensation. Federal law caps this at 10% of your plan payments, and the actual percentage varies by district and is often lower.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 586 – Duties; Supervision by Attorney General You don’t write a separate check. It’s built into the plan payment.
If You Own a Small Business
Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 aren’t always the right fit for small business owners. Subchapter V of Chapter 11 was designed for small businesses and has a different cost structure. The court filing fee alone is $1,738, compared to $338 for Chapter 7.8United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
Attorney fees in Subchapter V are billed hourly because the scope of work is unpredictable. Total legal cost can easily reach $15,000 to $50,000 or more, depending on whether creditors contest the plan, whether the business keeps operating, and how long the case takes.
Ways to Lower the Cost
If the fee ranges above feel out of reach, Florida has a few paths to lower or no-cost representation. Some attorneys offer sliding-scale fees for low-income filers with straightforward cases. Ask directly about reduced rates when you call for a consultation.
The Northern District of Florida runs a Pro Bono Initiative through its local bankruptcy bar association, matching eligible filers with attorneys who provide free or reduced-rate representation. The same district runs the P.L.A.N. program, which offers free general bankruptcy assistance to people considering filing.13United States Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Florida. Free and Reduced Rate Bankruptcy Assistance Florida’s other districts and local legal aid organizations run similar programs. Your local bankruptcy court clerk’s office can point you to what’s available in your area.14United States Department of Justice. Means Testing
Is a Lawyer Worth the Money
You are allowed to file without one. The results argue against it. Data from the Central District of California found that pro se Chapter 7 cases were dismissed at roughly twice the rate of attorney-represented cases. Across all chapters, nearly half of pro se filings were dismissed, compared to about 14% for represented filers.15United States Bankruptcy Court Central District of California. 2014 Annual Report – Pro Se
A dismissed case wastes the filing fee, delays your fresh start, may lift the automatic stay that was holding creditors back, and can complicate a future refiling. Bankruptcy schedules are detailed and unforgiving. A single missed schedule or incorrect exemption claim can sink the case. Measured against that risk, an attorney’s flat fee often looks like the cheaper option.