Fee application

How does a fee application work in bankruptcy?

It is not the form for the court's own filing fee. Asking to pay that fee in installments uses Official Form 103A, and asking to have the Chapter 7 fee waived uses Official Form 103B. 2

A fee application has to be specific. It must show in detail the amounts requested, the services rendered, the time spent and the expenses incurred, all payments already made or promised, where that money came from, and whether the pay has been or will be shared. 1

The court decides what is reasonable. It weighs the time spent, the rates charged, whether the work was necessary or helpful to the case, whether it was done in a reasonable time, the person's bankruptcy experience, and what comparable professionals charge outside bankruptcy. It can award less than requested, and it does not pay for duplicated work or for work that neither benefited the estate nor was needed to run the case. 3

Professionals may ask for interim payments, generally no more than once every 120 days unless the court allows more often. Interim amounts count against the final award, and any excess can be ordered returned. 4

In an individual's Chapter 13 case, the court may allow the debtor's lawyer reasonable pay based on the benefit and necessity of the work to the debtor, and those fees can be paid through the plan. 3