Question ...Bankruptcy Worries....Just Leave it to the attorney?

[crazycat]

Contemplating and beginning the preparations for bankruptcy can be mentally exhausting and daunting . The Issue is much more complex than One initially thinks, and when you visit a site like this, read the popular books available today and consult with attorneys-you can easily overload on speculation,worry & preparation. In fact-it can be obsessive ... Would it simply be best to get a "good" attorney, provide the documents, fill out the forms and then just leave the driving to them? Are attorney errors or "bad" representation that prevalent to really be concerned with? If I were to be thoroughly immersed & educated on bankruptcy law (or at least provided a very good understanding from those mentioned sources), could that actually be a conflict with my eventual attorney and cripple my relationship and my necessary release of control?

[HHM]

Well, with as something as important as a BK, you should not just hope for the best. Generally speaking, most attorneys do a pretty good job of shepherding a case through the system. When working with an attorney, the most important thing is to make sure the forms are accurate., aside from that, the BK pretty much takes care of itself.

[epiphany]

Contemplating and beginning the preparations for bankruptcy can be mentally exhausting and daunting . The Issue is much more complex than One initially thinks, and when you visit a site like this, read the popular books available today and consult with attorneys-you can easily overload on speculation,worry & preparation. In fact-it can be obsessive ... Would it simply be best to get a "good" attorney, provide the documents, fill out the forms and then just leave the driving to them? Are attorney errors or "bad" representation that prevalent to really be concerned with? If I were to be thoroughly immersed & educated on bankruptcy law (or at least provided a very good understanding from those mentioned sources), could that actually be a conflict with my eventual attorney and cripple my relationship and my necessary release of control?

Depends. Are you a control freak? That could be another problem in and of itself.

You are not going to be able to get as thoroughly educated and immersed in BK law as your attorney unless you are planning on spending years before filing.

I say all this with the caveat that it does not apply to those who have successfully filed pro se. This is for those of us who need an attorney to get through this:

I believe that you should educate yourself as much as possible. I would feel very uncomfortable "leaving all the driving to my attorney without some understanding of the process and taking an active role in one of the most important decisions of my life. I leave most of the driving to him but if I find the need to do some back seat driving, I will.

Plus, by educating yourself, you will find that you have concerns that you didn't even know you had. If you don't know you have them, neither will your attorney and they may not get addressed during the process.

There are many stories here citing attorney errors. Attornies are human and have multiple clients to keep track of--mistakes are bound to happen.

Think of your attorney as a chauffer. You want him to go down one route and he suggests another. You can ulimtately tell him what route to go down, assuming it is reasonable and legal, but be advised that he is more experienced at driving in the area than you and knows on which roads the bumps are and on what streets you will encounter the least amount of traffic.



Good luck to you,
ep