A Chapter 13 in the Central District costs $7,000 in attorney fees under the court's no-look schedule, $8,500 if a business is involved, plus a $313 filing fee and two short online courses. You don't need $7,000 to start. Most clients pay $1,000 to $2,000 before filing and the trustee pays the rest out of the monthly plan payment.
Before filing versus through the plan
The fee sounds large until you see how it's split. Here is where each dollar comes from in a typical non-business case.
| Item | Paid before filing | Paid through the plan |
|---|---|---|
| Attorney fee ($7,000 no-look) | $1,000 to $2,000 | The balance, $5,000 to $6,000, disbursed by the trustee |
| Court filing fee | $313 (installments allowed, no waiver) | |
| Credit counseling course | $15 to $50 | |
| Debtor education course | $15 to $50, taken before discharge | |
| Trustee's percentage fee | A statutory percentage of what flows through the plan |
So the cash you need to open a Chapter 13 is usually $1,500 to $2,400, not $7,300. The rest is built into a payment you'd be making anyway.
What a no-look fee is
The Central District publishes a Rights and Responsibilities Agreement, called the RARA, that sets a standard Chapter 13 fee. As of May 2024 that's $7,000 for a consumer case and $8,500 where the debtor has a business. If the attorney charges the RARA figure, the judge approves it without a fee application or a hearing. Hence "no-look."
What that means for you: the fee isn't something we made up, and it isn't something a competitor can meaningfully undercut. Every Chapter 13 lawyer in Los Angeles who signs the RARA charges the same number. What differs is what you get for it, which we'll come to.
The RARA also spells out what we owe you: returning calls, attending the 341 meeting and the confirmation hearing, preparing the plan, handling routine motions, and staying on the case for its full three to five years.
Why it costs more than Chapter 7
A Chapter 7 is over in about four months. A Chapter 13 is a relationship with the court that lasts 36 or 60 months, and a lot happens inside it.
The plan itself has to satisfy three separate tests before a judge will confirm it, and the trustee's office in this district reads plans closely. Mortgage lenders file claims that need checking against what you actually owe. A car loan may get crammed down. Tax claims get sorted into priority and general unsecured. Somewhere in year two a transmission fails or a job changes, and the plan gets modified. Each of those is a filing, and each is inside the $7,000.
Think of it as roughly $115 a month over five years, which is what $7,000 spread across 60 payments works out to, for a lawyer who is on the file the whole time.
Where the fee sits inside your payment
Your monthly plan payment goes to the Chapter 13 trustee, not to us. The trustee then pays creditors according to the confirmed plan, and administrative claims, including the unpaid attorney fee, are paid first, in the early months. Once the fee is paid, that same money keeps flowing to your mortgage arrears or your unsecured creditors. The payment doesn't drop when the fee is done; it was calculated with the fee in it from the start.
Say your plan is $900 a month. In the first year, a good share of each payment clears the balance of the attorney fee. After that, all $900 goes to creditors. Your budget never sees the difference.
What the no-look fee doesn't cover
The RARA is generous but it has edges. An adversary proceeding, where a creditor or the trustee sues inside the case, is separate. So is defending a contested motion to lift the stay that goes past a routine stipulation, or a lien-strip motion on a second mortgage that turns into a valuation fight with appraisers. Converting to Chapter 7 mid-case is quoted on its own.
When something outside the RARA comes up, Naomi tells you what it is and what it costs before doing it, and any additional fee has to be approved by the judge. That's the court's rule, not just ours.
If the case ends early
Not every Chapter 13 finishes. If a case is dismissed before the plan is confirmed, money the trustee is holding generally comes back to you, less allowed administrative claims, which can include attorney fees for the work already done. After confirmation, whatever the trustee has paid out stays paid out. You're not billed a lump sum on the way out, and you're not billed for the months that didn't happen.
The Chapter 7 fee, and how the two chapters compare on total cost, is on the main page about what bankruptcy costs in Los Angeles. Before worrying about the cost, though, make sure Chapter 13 is your chapter. The page on Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 walks through what decides it.
the question I get on nearly every Chapter 13 consultation is some version of "how can I afford a $7,000 lawyer when I can't afford my mortgage." Fair. The answer is that you're not writing me a $7,000 check. You're writing the trustee one check a month, and the plan is built so the fee is inside it. What I'd rather you worry about is whether the plan payment itself fits. If it doesn't, we shouldn't be filing a 13, and I'll tell you that on the call.
Questions people ask about this
Do I have to pay the full $7,000 up front?
No. Typically $1,000 to $2,000 is paid before filing, and the trustee pays the balance to us out of your monthly plan payments. That's how the Central District's no-look fee is designed to work.
Is $7,000 negotiable?
Not really, and be wary of anyone who says it is. The figure is set by the court's RARA schedule. A lower quote usually means the lawyer plans to charge hourly and file a fee application later, which can end up costing more.
Does the plan payment go up because of the attorney fee?
The fee is built into the payment from the beginning, so it's part of the number you see, not added afterward. Once the fee is paid, the same monthly amount continues to creditors.
Why can't I get the $313 filing fee waived?
The Bankruptcy Code only allows fee waivers in Chapter 7. A Chapter 13 filer can pay the $313 in installments, but it has to be paid, and the court will dismiss a case where it isn't.
What happens to the fee if my Chapter 13 is dismissed?
You aren't billed a lump sum. If dismissal happens before confirmation, funds the trustee holds are generally returned to you after allowed administrative claims. After confirmation, what's been paid stays paid, and nothing further is owed for months that didn't happen.
Is the business fee always $8,500?
It's the no-look figure when the debtor operates a business, because the case involves operating reports and a different set of trustee questions. It's quoted in writing before you decide anything.
Talk it through with the attorney
If you're behind on a house or a car and want to know what a Chapter 13 payment would actually look like, with the fee inside it, book a free video consultation with Naomi. Evenings are available.