Finally, does chapter 13 have more lawyer fees and if so by how much?
Answer It is hard to save money while you are in Chapter 13, because the law requires you to pay all of your disposable income for the duration of the Plan. I have been successful over the years to get some savings for my clients by including a small line item on their budgets for an emergency reserve, usually around $100 per month. However, the new law does give you the ability to contribute money to tax qualified retirement plans while you are in the case. Doing that could potentially allow someone to save quite a bit of money! If you make more than allowed for chapter 7, your Chapter 13 must pay unsecured creditors as much as is indicated by the Means Test. If your real budget won’t allow you to do so, you can try to get that waived or reduced by showing extraordinary circumstances. Lawyer fees for a 13 case are generally about double the going rate for a chapter 7, because so much extra work is required.
