No Money Down Bankruptcy: Fee Bifurcation, Installments, and Waivers

A no money down bankruptcy is possible, and it works through three separate mechanisms that let you defer or eliminate the costs. Chapter 7 attorneys can split their work into pre-filing and post-filing contracts so you owe little or nothing at the moment of filing. Chapter 13 attorneys fold their fees directly into your repayment plan. And the court’s own filing fee — $338 for Chapter 7 or $313 for Chapter 13 — can be paid in installments or waived entirely if your income is low enough. Which route fits depends on the chapter you qualify for and whether the attorney you hire is willing to structure things that way.

Zero-Down Chapter 7: Fee Bifurcation

Chapter 7 lawyers who take cases with nothing upfront use a technique called fee bifurcation. Instead of one flat retainer, the lawyer writes two contracts tied to two phases of work. The first covers the bare minimum needed to get the case filed, often for a nominal fee or no fee at all. The second covers everything after filing and creates a new payment obligation you can spread over several months.

The split exists for a practical reason. Any debt you owe an attorney before filing can be wiped out by the bankruptcy itself, leaving the lawyer unpaid. Keeping the pre-filing contract minimal and signing the second agreement after the petition is on file makes those post-filing fees a new obligation that survives the discharge. Attorneys have to disclose every compensation agreement to the court, and the judge can review both contracts for fairness.¹

The first phase usually means filing a skeleton petition, a stripped-down version of the paperwork with just enough information to open the case and trigger the automatic stay that stops creditors. You then have 14 days to file the rest of the schedules and statements.² The second phase covers preparing those detailed documents, walking you through the meeting of creditors, and handling complications. Attorney fees for Chapter 7 generally fall between $1,500 and $3,000 depending on location and complexity.

Zero-Down Chapter 13: Fees Inside the Plan

Chapter 13 handles the money question differently and is arguably the more natural fit for a zero-down filing. Instead of splitting the work into two contracts, the attorney’s fees are treated as administrative expenses and folded into your court-approved repayment plan.³ Administrative expenses sit near the top of the payment hierarchy, so your lawyer gets paid before general creditors like credit card companies see anything.

Your monthly plan payments, managed by a Chapter 13 trustee, cover attorney fees along with your other debts over three to five years.⁴ Local courts often set a presumptively reasonable fee for standard Chapter 13 cases, so the amount going to your lawyer is predictable. You can walk in with empty pockets, file, and begin making affordable monthly payments once the plan is confirmed.

One restriction applies to both chapters. While you are still paying the court filing fee in installments, no payments can go to your attorney or anyone else providing services in your case.⁵ In Chapter 13 this rarely causes friction because the plan handles everything. In a bifurcated Chapter 7, the attorney’s post-filing payments start only after the filing fee is paid in full.

Court Filing Fees: Installments or Waiver

The Chapter 7 filing fee totals $338 — a $245 base fee, a $78 administrative fee, and a $15 trustee surcharge.⁶⁷ Chapter 13 totals $313 ($235 base plus $78 administrative). Both can be deferred or, for Chapter 7 filers below a certain income, eliminated.

Paying in Installments

Official Form 103A lets you propose splitting the filing fee into as many as four payments. You fill in the amounts and dates, and the court either approves your schedule or modifies it. All payments must be completed within 120 days of filing, though a judge can extend the deadline to 180 days for good cause.⁸ The clerk must accept your petition with the installment application attached even if you pay nothing at the time of filing.⁵ Miss a payment deadline and the court can dismiss your case before you receive a discharge.

Waiving the Fee

Chapter 7 filers whose household income falls below 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines can request a full fee waiver using Official Form 103B. For 2026, the poverty guideline for a single person in the 48 contiguous states is $15,960, which puts the 150 percent threshold at roughly $23,940.⁹ For a household of four, the guideline is $33,000, so 150 percent comes to $49,500. The waiver is only available in Chapter 7. Chapter 13 filers must use installments.

Who Qualifies for Chapter 7 Versus Chapter 13

The chapter isn’t purely your choice. Chapter 7 requires passing a means test that compares your income to the median for your state and household size.¹⁰ If your annualized household income falls at or below the applicable median, no one can challenge your Chapter 7 filing on means-test grounds. For cases filed between November 2025 and March 2026, the median for a single earner ranges from about $52,600 in Mississippi to over $86,000 in states like Colorado and Washington.¹¹

If your income exceeds the median, you can still qualify for Chapter 7, but only if your allowable living expenses leave you without enough disposable income to repay a meaningful portion of your debts. The calculation uses standardized expense categories set by the IRS and local cost-of-living data. When the math shows significant leftover income, the court presumes the filing is abusive and may push you into Chapter 13. This matters for zero-down arrangements because the fee mechanics differ between chapters.

The Credit Counseling Requirement

Before you can file any bankruptcy petition, you have to complete a credit counseling session with an approved nonprofit agency within the 180 days before filing.¹² Skip it and the court will dismiss your case. The session can be done by phone or online and usually takes about an hour.

Cost is not supposed to be a barrier. Approved agencies must provide counseling regardless of your ability to pay, and anyone with household income below 150 percent of the poverty guidelines is presumptively entitled to a fee waiver or reduced rate.¹³ In a genuine emergency, you can ask the court for a temporary waiver if you tried to get counseling but could not obtain it within seven days; the court will then give you up to 30 days (with a possible 15-day extension) to complete the requirement after filing.¹² Certificates expire after 180 days, so delay too long and you’ll take the course again.

The Risks of Filing With Nothing Upfront

The biggest risk in any deferred-payment arrangement is that missed deadlines lead to dismissal. Fail to complete your filing fee installments within 120 days and the court can throw out your case without granting a discharge.⁵ File a skeleton petition and miss the 14-day window to submit the rest of your documents, and the same thing happens.² You’d still owe the attorney for work already done under the post-filing contract, and creditors would resume collection where they left off.

Dismissal can also carry longer-term consequences. If the court finds you intentionally violated court orders, or you requested dismissal after a creditor moved to lift the automatic stay, you may be barred from refiling for 180 days. In cases involving fraud or repeated incomplete filings, judges have discretion to impose longer bans.

There’s also a less obvious trap. Zero-down arrangements attract some firms that overload their caseload and give each client minimal attention. If your attorney files a skeleton petition and then misses the 14-day completion deadline because they’re juggling too many cases, you pay the price. Before signing, ask how many active cases the attorney handles and what happens if deadlines slip. A lawyer who charges nothing upfront but lets your case get dismissed is more expensive than one who charges a reasonable amount and gets the job done.

Repeat filers also get less protection. If a prior bankruptcy case was dismissed within the past year, the automatic stay in your new case lasts only 30 days unless you get the court to extend it, and that motion has to be filed and heard within those 30 days.¹⁴ With two or more prior dismissals in the past year, there’s no automatic stay at all unless the court grants one. Serial zero-down filings with missed deadlines can genuinely make things worse.

Debts That Survive Bankruptcy Anyway

Filing without money still doesn’t help if the debts you want gone can’t be discharged. Certain categories survive no matter what chapter you use:

Child support and alimony pass through bankruptcy untouched.¹⁵
Most student loans stay with you unless you can prove repayment would impose an undue hardship, a high bar in court.
Recent income taxes, fraudulent returns, and unfiled returns generally survive.
Debts obtained through fraud or misrepresentation are non-dischargeable. Luxury purchases over $900 within 90 days of filing and cash advances over $1,250 within 70 days are presumed fraudulent.¹⁵
Debts from willful injury to another person or their property stay with you.
Criminal restitution, traffic tickets, and other government fines are not dischargeable.

If most of what you owe falls into these categories, a zero-down filing may cost you deferred attorney fees without giving you meaningful relief. Confirm what will actually be discharged before you sign a bifurcated fee agreement or commit to a Chapter 13 plan.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 US Code 329 – Debtors Transactions With Attorneys
2
Cornell Law Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1007 – Lists, Schedules, Statements, and Other Documents
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 507 – Priorities
4
United States Courts. Chapter 13 – Bankruptcy Basics
5
Cornell Law Institute. Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 1006 – Filing Fee
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1930 – Bankruptcy Fees
7
United States Courts. Bankruptcy Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
8
United States Courts. Official Form 103A – Application for Individuals to Pay the Filing Fee in Installments
9
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 707 – Dismissal of a Case or Conversion to a Case Under Chapter 11 or 13
11
United States Department of Justice. November 1, 2025 Median Income Table
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 109 – Who May Be a Debtor
13
U.S. Trustee Program. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Credit Counseling
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 362 – Automatic Stay
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge