Lawyer banned from court

[Idkwhattosay]

Ok So we hired our lawyer in Jan 2016 and for months he has been telling is it is ok and just taking longer than normal.
Well little did we know he wasn't filing anything at all. Finally he filed in July! So from Jan to July he asked for updated income until June but not bank statements etc.

Cut to night before 341 meeting. We get an email saying he didn't do his continuing education hours and the judge says he can't be in court for over x amount of days but we should go ahead and we will be fine.

We'll we get there and not only is the trustee there but a person with the dept of justice too. So trustee asks questions and then she does .. things like why is one nunnery on one paper and another on another, did our lawyer say he was in good standing, when did we pay and when did we originally expect to go to court etc.
Also my lawyer had never asked for updated income from me for my Farm income..

So anyway the lady wants updated income and a receipt copy of payment to our lawyer.

Well it has been 10 days and today I see online that it says the trustee filed statement of abuse.

We had asked our lawyer if because my hubby worked extra the last few months if we were going over the income and he said no we were ok..

I'm scared what if he filed something wrong.
Do we need a lawyer to just drop this case and start over?
Ps.. lawyer turned off his phone etc.

[leonel9]

We probably need more details in order to provide an adequate response about the statement of abuse (what chapter you're filing and how your income/means test look, etc.). However, given that you state your attorney sat on your paperwork for six months without reason, is not able to "be" in court, and has no working telephone, I would immediately consult with another attorney, if not multiple attorneys.

While the trustee's actions may be routine, they also may not. You may be able to get a second opinion via a free consultation.

[Idkwhattosay]

We filed chapter 7 and I am not sure what you meant by what did the means test look like.
I think in Jan we just barely made the right amount for chapter 7 but by June my husband had worked extra. My husbands company had him working extra for 2 months due to a guy being deployed. I did ask the attorney if that put us over the limit and he said oh no your fine..

How will an attorney know of the trustees actions are routine or not?

Also we did go see another lawyer the day of the 341 meeting and the lawyers in town all already knew about the issue my lawyer had going on. We were not the only ones apparently ft is a lot. Anyway that lawyer said everything looked ok except we needed the post credit counseling.

When we get our letter in the mail will it tell us why the trustee filed statement of abuse?

[despritfreya]

You do not tell us what State you are in. Does your bk court have a "self help" center? By filing the "presumption of abuse" the US Trustee may simply be preserving his/her right to seek the dismissal or conversion due to you not meeting the "means test" and, after "investigating" may never go forward with such a motion.

You have spoken to another attorney. Why not consult with a couple of others?

Des.

[LadyInTheRed]

I would definitely consult with other attorneys.

One thing you can do in the meantime is to look at what your and your husband's income was in the 6 months before you filed. If you field in July, use January through June. Multiply the gross income by 2 and compare that to the median income in your state. If it is less than median income, you will be fine. If it is more, you very well may still be fine.