“I brought a shoebox of envelopes. Eudora laid them out in two columns and said, ‘There’s your answer.’ It was the first time in a year I wasn’t guessing.”
Annelle B.Chapter 7, Madison
Flat-fee bankruptcy · Huntsville, and all of Alabama by video
Read both columns before you decide
What you owe goes on one side, what you earn and own on the other. We total both with you, free, before anyone says the word filing. To begin, pick the line that weighs most.
The heaviest line on my sheet
- Wages being garnishedWhat a filing does to the next check
- The house payment is behindPausing a sale, then catching up
- Cards, medical bills, old loansChapter 7, and who it fits
- A car or home I mean to keepA plan over three to five years
- I can’t say what I oweWe add it up together first
- What will all this costThe whole price on one page
Line by line
Four ways to square the books
Each way through is one flat line on the fee sheet. The court’s filing fee and two short credit courses are entered separately, and the fees page lists every one.
- Flat fee
Chapter 7
For cards, medical bills and old loans you can’t repay. We total what you earn and own first, and file only if the numbers say it fits.
Chapter 7, line by line - Flat fee
Chapter 13
A plan over three to five years that holds creditors back while you catch up on the house or car and pay what you can on the rest.
The plan, in brief - Inside the Chapter 13 fee
Foreclosure
A sale date on the calendar can be paused the day we file. The plan then spreads the missed payments over the years ahead.
Behind on the house - Inside either flat fee
Wage garnishment
Once a case is filed the court orders the creditor to stop taking from your check, and we send your payroll office the notice.
Stopping the paycheck cut
How we start
Your sheet has two columns
Most people arrive knowing one number, the one that keeps them up at night. A balance needs the other column too.
Your pay, your savings, the car, the house, the retirement account: we fill those in beside the debts on a free video call, then tell you which way through fits.
Some weeks that is Chapter 7, some weeks Chapter 13, and now and then the honest answer is to wait or not to file at all.
Gather these before the call
Two recent pay stubs
A statement or letter for each debt
Anything from a collector or the court
A short tally of what you own and owe
The firm’s statement
Where we stand, in four lines
- Founded
- 2013Downtown Huntsville, on Franklin Street
- Courts
- U.S. Bankruptcy Courts of AlabamaNorthern, Middle and Southern DistrictsU.S. District Courts of AlabamaThe same three districts
- Jurisdictions
- State of AlabamaClients in every county, by videoAlabama State BarAll three lawyers admitted
- Meetings
- Video or phoneEvenings on Tuesdays and ThursdaysIn personFranklin Street, by appointment
After the last entry
Closing the books, in their words
“The plan payment is smaller than what I was scraping together every month to keep the lights and the house. Winfield went through every line with me on video.”
Jerrod W.Chapter 13, Athens
“They told us the price on the phone, and it was the price at the end. We never had to drive to Huntsville.”
Mavis and Elbert T.Chapter 7, Mobile
Comments here are samples, shared with each client’s permission. Every case is its own, and no comment forecasts how yours will go.
What first calls start with
Notes to the statement
01Do I have to file to talk with you?
No. The first video call is free, runs about half an hour, and ends with the total of both columns and a plain answer on which way through fits, including not filing.
02Do I have to give up my home or my car?
What you keep is set by law, and we check each item before suggesting anything. Many people keep both, and Chapter 13 exists for people who need time to catch up on those payments.
03What does a flat fee mean?
One price, in writing, for the whole case, and it doesn’t grow with the hours. The court’s filing fee and the two required courses are separate, and we list them before you decide.
04Do I have to come to Huntsville?
No. Meetings are by video or phone wherever you live in Alabama. The meeting with the trustee is set by the court; we tell you where and how before the day, and a lawyer joins you either way.
05When do the collection calls stop?
Most calls and wage garnishments must stop once the case is filed. We send notice to your creditors, and to your employer’s payroll office, that same week.
06Will this show on my credit?
Yes, for years. Many people begin rebuilding within a couple of years once the old debts stop growing, and we talk through how at the end of the case.
Come with the pile, leave with a total
A free video call with a lawyer. You don’t need account numbers, only what you remember and the letters you have.