In Washington, the court imposed filing fee for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy is $306. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filers have the option of paying this filing fee after their cases are filed. Our office prepares the required application for you so that you can get your case filed quickly and pay the filing fee later. If you do choose this option, the Washington Bankruptcy Court will impose an installment payment schedule that will enable you to pay off your filing fee in the 12 weeks after your case is filed.
It is important to remember a couple things. First, while the court is happy to accept payments, it is not going to work with you when it comes to their timing. Your case will likely be dismissed within moments if it does not arrive on time. It is critically important that the payments be made on time. Second, the court is not going to take a credit card or debit payment over the phone, the payment must be received by the due date. The repercussions for not making the payment on time are severe. Your case will be dismissed and can only be reopened if the entire filing fee is paid in full plus the reopen fee of $260. If you can pay off the filing fee early, do so.
If you can pay off the Washington Chapter 7 filing fees prior to filing by all means do so. If you do want to pay them in installments that’s fine too, just keep in mind that the court is not a flexible creditor. You will receive an order in the mail shortly after your case is filed spelling out the forms of allowable payments, the due dates and the payment address. Be on the look out for it(unfortunately while it comes in a very official looking envelope, it is flimsy enough to get caught up in your junk mail). Save it and if you lose it, call us immediately so that we can get the information to you.
When it comes to Chapter 13 Bankruptcy cases, the court filing fee is $281. The installment arrangement is available. The court requires that $100 be paid up front and the remainder will simply be paid through your Chapter 13 Plan. Please feel free to contact me any time via email or phone if you have any questions at all about the Washington Bankruptcy Filing Fees. You can also visit my Vancouver bankruptcy attorney and Seattle bankruptcy attorney websites to find more specific information to these locations.
