Does a bankruptcy lawyer charge to cancel a bankruptcy filing??

If you've signed a retainer agreement or contract with the attorney, see what it says. Filings do not usually just cancel themselves if you do not show up.

Bankruptcy attorneys expect to get paid for the work that they do. In Chapter 7, legal fees typically get paid "up front" and in full. To dismiss a Chapter 7 is a rather difficult trick to pull off because there is no RIGHT to dismiss and you must persuade the Court that doing this is in the best interests of your CREDITORS. In Chapter 13, legal fees are paid out of the plan and you generally owe the attorney quite a lot by the time the trustee starts taking your plan payments and making distributions to pay for your legal fees. But the work to dismiss the case can often be fairly simple and quick. Sure would have helped if you indicated whether you filed Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Hope this perspective helps!

Unfortunately there is too much information missing from your question to even speculate. Contact your lawyer. Be patient and hear what he or she is telling you. If you do not understand, tell your lawyer you do not understand. Your question sounds like the beginning of a breakdown in communication, which is not pleasant for the lawyer or the client.

If you filed a Chapter 7 case, and want it dismissed, remember that you cannot file a motion to dismiss a case successfully if you are a debtor. If you really want the case dumped, just don't show up for the scheduled 341 hearing, or for the reset date. The panel trustee will move to dismiss the case, and it will get dismissed. If you filed a Chapter 13 case, you can file a written motion to dismiss your case with the clerk, and the court will dismiss it promptly. Be careful what you ask for, though. Dismissal of your case opens you up to all types of collection activities by your creditors.

I'm not familiar with what deadline you are referring to. The fact that your attorney is referring to dismissal seems to indicate that your case has already been filed. Typically, if you fail to appear for your section 341 meeting of creditors, the trustee will file a motion to dismiss your case. This will not however "erase" the bankruptcy. In other words, your credit report will still reflect that you have filed for bankruptcy. I think the better course of action would be to sit down with either your current attorney or another bankruptcy attorney to discuss whatever issue is causing you to rethink whether bankruptcy is your best course of action.

Typically fee agreements are earned upon retainer. This means that once you retain the attorney they would be entitled to the agreed upon amount. It would depend upon several factors, among them...how much have you paid the attorney to date. How much work has the attorney done. While you may think "its not filed the attorney did nothing" there are lots of things that are being done without your knowledge. For instance, I have clients who dont bring adequate documents, but we still pull a credit report sometimes ($50) sign them up for credit counseling ($25) set meetings and answer phone calls, and draft their bankruptcy if they tell me how much their income is so that we can get them qualified for chapter 7 or give them a tentative payment if they have to be a chapter 13. At that point I will break down the hours for the work completed and send them an invoice if they feel they are entitled to a complete refund.

Many attorneys will charge a flat rate for majority of the work done in a bankruptcy case. However, if extra work is needed to be done such as filing to get your case dismissed, then an hourly rate may be applied. You should look at the contract you signed when you hired your attorney. Whether or not your case will be dismissed at any upcoming hearing if you do nothing is left up to the Trustee and the Court. I would not as others have suggested simply not show up for court and hope that you case is dismissed.