Attorney questionnaire?

[inhocknow]

Good afternoon folks,

I have reviewed some sample questionnaires from attorneys (although I have not retained one as of yet). I would love to ask a question here.
On these questionnaires, it asks for averages for past 6 months of pay, taxes, expenses and so on.

The question I have for you is,

If I put the average on the paperwork for the attorney, that average could change by the time they actually file the bankruptcy petiton for me.

Is this something for me to worry about? Do we have a chance to alter or update the petition right before it gets filed?

Thank you all.

[lrprn]

If I put the average on the paperwork for the attorney, that average could change by the time they actually file the bankruptcy petiton for me. Is this something for me to worry about? Do we have a chance to alter or update the petition right before it gets filed?

Yes, you will be able to review and request changes on your bankruptcy forms before filing.

You typically go to your attorney's office to sign the forms or the completed forms are mailed to you for your signature. This is when you go through the forms line by line to ensure they reflect the true state of your finances before signing. If changes need to be made, tell your lawyer (or his staff) what needs to be changed so they can produce new forms with the amended amounts for you to sign.

[inhocknow]

Yes, you will be able to review and request changes on your bankruptcy forms before filing.

You typically go to your attorney's office to sign the forms or the completed forms are mailed to you for your signature. This is when you go through the forms line by line to ensure they reflect the true state of your finances before signing. If changes need to be made, tell your lawyer (or his staff) what needs to be changed so they can produce new forms with the amended amounts for you to sign.

Do most people have changes that need to be made to average expenses, average income and other line items like this?

Thank you for your help.

[inhocknow]

How many pages are the typcial attorney questionnaires? I have seen some with 35-40 pages. Is this probably including the bankruptcy officials questions as well that he just incorporatated into his own paperwork so he/she has everything ready at one shot?

Thank you.

[lrprn]

Do most people have changes that need to be made to average expenses, average income and other line items like this?

Some will, some won't. Just depends on individual circumstances.

The review of your bankruptcy forms line by line before filing is also very important to catch mistakes. It's important to catch all honest mistakes before signing on the dotted line. These forms are complex and busy lawyer offices are filling out multiple filers paperwork at one time. Check your forms over with a fine tooth comb. Make no assumptions that just because you gave the right information about income and expenses to your lawyer that this will automatically be what's on your forms!

Our lawyer and his office staff are very competent and very careful, but we still caught several minor errors on our forms which they were able to correct before we signed them.

[lrprn]

How many pages are the typcial attorney questionnaires? I have seen some with 35-40 pages. Is this probably including the bankruptcy officials questions as well that he just incorporatated into his own paperwork so he/she has everything ready at one shot?

Some lawyers use extensive questionnaires, others use brief questionnaires, and still others like to get the information first hand by questioning you directly. Just depends on the lawyer's preference. There's lots of ways to capture the needed information for your filing forms - you go with the one your bk lawyer prefers.