If you’re thinking about filing bankruptcy, there are five people or organizations you may end up speaking with, and they do very different jobs. Federal law requires your first conversation to be with an approved nonprofit credit counseling agency before you can file. After that, a bankruptcy attorney is the only person who can give you legal advice about your case. Legal aid programs fill in when you can’t afford an attorney, petition preparers handle paperwork without advice, and the court clerk’s office manages the filing itself. Once your case is filed, a trustee is assigned to it. Knowing which one to call first, and what each can and cannot do, keeps a case from being dismissed on a technicality.
Start With an Approved Credit Counseling Agency
Your first call goes here because the law demands it. Every individual filer must complete a credit counseling briefing from an approved nonprofit agency within the 180 days before the petition date.1United States Bankruptcy Court. Notice to All Debtors About Prepetition Credit Counseling Requirement Skip it, or let the certificate expire, and the court will dismiss your case before it begins.
The briefing reviews your overall financial picture and walks through alternatives like debt management plans. You can complete it by phone, online, or in person.1United States Bankruptcy Court. Notice to All Debtors About Prepetition Credit Counseling Requirement Most sessions run 60 to 90 minutes and cost between $10 and $50, and agencies must offer fee waivers if you genuinely cannot pay. At the end, the agency issues a certificate of completion that gets filed with your petition.
Only agencies on the U.S. Trustee Program’s approved list can issue a valid certificate. That list, organized by judicial district, lives on the Department of Justice website.2United States Department of Justice. List of Credit Counseling Agencies Approved Pursuant to 11 USC 111 Certificates from any other source will not be accepted by the court.
There is a second course too, taken after filing. It’s called debtor education, and you must complete it before the court will discharge any debts.3U.S. Courts. Credit Counseling and Debtor Education Courses Many of the same agencies that handle the pre-filing briefing offer it.
A Bankruptcy Attorney Is the Only Person Who Can Advise You
A bankruptcy attorney is the only person in the process who can give you legal advice about your specific situation. The central question they answer is whether you belong in Chapter 7, where most unsecured debts are wiped out quickly, or Chapter 13, where you repay creditors over three to five years. That determination turns on the means test, which compares your average monthly income over the past six months against the median income for a household your size in your state. Income below the median generally qualifies you for Chapter 7. Income above it usually points to a Chapter 13 repayment plan.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
Getting this wrong is expensive. Filing under the wrong chapter can burn your filing fee, delay relief, and lead to conversion or dismissal. Attorneys also work to maximize exemptions so you keep as much property as the law allows.
When an attorney signs your petition, that signature is a legal certification. It says the attorney has independently investigated your financial records and confirmed the schedules are accurate and the case isn’t being filed for an improper purpose.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13 If the court later finds the filing violated its rules, the attorney can be personally sanctioned. That built-in accountability is a large part of what you’re paying for.
What Attorneys Cost
Chapter 7 attorney fees typically run between $1,200 and $2,500, depending on location and complexity. Simple cases with straightforward debts and few assets fall at the lower end. Cases involving business assets, pending lawsuits, or exemption disputes push fees higher. These fees usually cover everything through the meeting of creditors and discharge.
Chapter 13 fees are higher because the attorney’s work stretches across the entire three-to-five-year plan. Most districts set a “no-look” fee, a presumptively reasonable amount the court approves without detailed billing justification, typically in the $3,000 to $6,000 range. In Chapter 13, attorney fees can be folded into the repayment plan itself, so you don’t need the full amount upfront.
Chapter 7 works differently. Because the filing wipes out most pre-petition debts, any unpaid attorney fees would be discharged along with them. Most Chapter 7 attorneys therefore require payment in full before filing the petition.
Legal Aid and Pro Bono Programs
If you can’t afford a private attorney, legal aid may be an option. Organizations funded through the Legal Services Corporation represent people whose household income sits at or below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines.6eCFR. 45 CFR Part 1611 – Financial Eligibility For 2026, that works out to roughly $19,950 per year for a single person or $41,250 for a family of four.7HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
Local bar associations also maintain lists of attorneys who volunteer time for pro bono bankruptcy work. These programs tend to prioritize cases involving foreclosure or basic survival needs. If you qualify, you get real legal representation: help completing mandatory forms, interpreting court notices, and appearing at hearings. The main drawback is limited availability. Wait times can stretch for weeks.
Petition Preparers Type Forms, Nothing Else
Bankruptcy petition preparers are non-attorneys who type your financial information into official court forms for a fee.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 110 – Penalty for Persons Who Negligently or Fraudulently Prepare Bankruptcy Petitions That’s the whole job. They cannot tell you which chapter to file under, explain which exemptions protect your property, advise you on whether a debt is dischargeable, or answer questions about bankruptcy procedures. Federal law prohibits any of that.
Preparers also cannot sign documents on your behalf or collect money from you to pay the court’s filing fee.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 110 – Penalty for Persons Who Negligently or Fraudulently Prepare Bankruptcy Petitions They must give you a written notice stating clearly that they are not attorneys and cannot provide legal services.
If a preparer crosses the line into legal advice, they face fines of up to $500 per violation, and the court can triple that amount in cases involving concealed assets or false Social Security numbers. A debtor harmed by preparer misconduct can sue for actual damages plus the greater of $2,000 or twice the amount paid.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 110 – Penalty for Persons Who Negligently or Fraudulently Prepare Bankruptcy Petitions Those penalties don’t undo a botched filing. You remain personally responsible for every number on the forms and represent yourself in court if a creditor objects or the trustee raises a challenge.
The Court Clerk Handles Filing, Not Advice
The clerk’s office is the administrative gatekeeper. Staff provide local forms, explain procedural requirements, and accept your filed documents. They can tell you what the filing fee is and how to request installment payments. They cannot give legal advice, suggest whether you should file, or predict how a judge will rule.
Filing Fees and How to Reduce Them
The standard filing fee is $338 for Chapter 7 and $313 for Chapter 13. If you can’t pay the full amount upfront, you can apply to pay in installments: up to four payments, all completed within 120 days of filing. For good cause, the deadline can stretch to 180 days.10Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1006 – Filing Fee One catch: while any balance on the filing fee remains unpaid, neither you nor a Chapter 13 trustee can pay your attorney or anyone else providing services on the case.
Chapter 7 filers whose income falls below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines can apply for a complete fee waiver.11United States Trustee Program. Notice to Chapter 7 Trustees re Bankruptcy Filing Fee Waivers For a single person in 2026, that threshold is roughly $23,940 per year. Chapter 13 filers do not have a fee waiver option, but the installment plan is available to anyone.
Many clerk’s offices also offer public terminals for accessing case records, and court websites host step-by-step guides for people filing without an attorney. These resources help with mechanics but won’t substitute for legal advice about which debts are dischargeable or how to protect property.
The Trustee Assigned to Your Case
You won’t choose your trustee the way you choose an attorney, but this is someone you will interact with. Every bankruptcy case gets one, and the role depends on the chapter.
In a Chapter 7 case, the trustee investigates whether you have non-exempt assets that could be sold to pay creditors. The trustee runs the meeting of creditors, a brief hearing where you answer questions under oath about your income, expenses, debts, and property. Before this meeting, you’ll need to provide a government-issued photo ID, proof of your Social Security number, recent pay stubs, bank and investment account statements covering the filing date, and your most recent federal tax return.12U.S. Department of Justice. Section 341 Meeting of Creditors Creditors can attend and ask questions, though for routine consumer cases most don’t show up.
In a Chapter 13 case, the trustee acts as a payment processor. You send regular payments to the trustee, who distributes the money to creditors under the court-approved plan.4United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics Payments must begin within 30 days of filing, even before the plan is officially confirmed. The relationship lasts the full three to five years of the plan.
One Thing to Raise in Your First Conversation
Bankruptcy doesn’t erase every kind of debt. Domestic support obligations like child support and alimony survive discharge. So do most student loans, absent a separate “undue hardship” finding, along with recent income taxes, debts obtained through fraud, criminal restitution, and DUI injury claims.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 523 – Exceptions to Discharge If most of what you owe falls into these categories, bankruptcy may cost you time and money without providing real relief. Bring a complete list of your debts to your first meeting, whether that’s with a credit counselor or an attorney, so this can be flagged before you file.