Selection rule
Favor the lawyer who identifies the important unknowns.
Chapter 7 can look simple until property, income, recent transfers, prior filings, secured debts, taxes, or discharge disputes enter the picture. A strong candidate does not merely say that you qualify; the lawyer explains what must be documented and what could change the recommendation.
Chapter 7 competence signals
- Property review: asks who owns each asset, current value, liens, residency history, and possible exemption choices.
- Income review: uses current U.S. Trustee data and investigates irregular income, household contributions, and allowable expenses.
- Transaction review: asks about gifts, sales, repayments, lawsuits, inheritances, and recent credit use with exact dates.
- Debt classification: separates secured, priority, support, tax, student-loan, and disputed debts from ordinary unsecured debt.
- Case administration: explains the trustee, 341 meeting, document requests, required courses, and post-filing tasks.
Ask for a risk summary before deciding
After reviewing your initial documents, ask each lawyer to summarize the two or three facts that most affect the case. Compare whether those summaries are specific and evidence-based. Different answers are a reason to ask follow-up questions, not automatically a reason to choose the most optimistic answer.
Flat-fee scope checklist
- Initial document review
- Means-test forms
- Petition and schedules
- Creditor matrix
- Filing and notices
- 341 meeting appearance
- Routine trustee follow-up
- Amendment policy
- Reaffirmation work
- Post-discharge questions
Mark every item as included, excluded, or separately priced. Do not infer scope from “full-service” wording.
Use local knowledge carefully
Local court and trustee familiarity can improve preparation, but it is not permission to promise a result. Ask which official local forms or procedures apply, how documents reach the trustee, whether appearances are remote or in person, and how the firm monitors local notices.
Chapter 7 warning signs
- No questions about assets or recent transfers.
- Means-test confidence based only on annual salary.
- A quoted fee with no amendment or complication policy.
- Advice to leave an asset or creditor off the papers.
- A guaranteed “no-asset” result before trustee review.
Official sources
Next step
Prepare the same document packet for every consultation, then use the complete Chapter 7 attorney comparison guide to review costs, questions, and credentials.