I'm in a Mess!

[SadSack]

Can anyone give me any guidance? I am in a mess!

My husband and I filed bankruptcy one year ago. We never lived beyond our personal means, I lost a business and my husband's company closed in the same week over 3 years ago. We have not bought anything or repaired anything for years. We tried to be thrifty thinking we could hold off a bankruptcy and it didn't work.

Unfortunately we got a crappy lawyer and were in such a state of depression, we didn't realize what hit us. We thought filing would give us a fresh start and all it has done is create a nightmare. Our lawyer did not give us any guidance on what to budget. He just told us not to ask for very much or the trustee would question it and fight us on it. And we did what he said.

Now in order to survive financially we cut back on eating, I add water to our soap bottles, I will use a portion of a dryer sheet to dry clothes, both of our cars are over 10 years old, our shoes have holes in them, etc.

To make matters worse, I am a real estate agent and our market has gone down and because of my nasty car, etc, my ability to make money in real estate has dropped considerably. I had more expenses this year in real estate and I am behind in real estate fees just to be in this business.

I want to walk away from real estate as I am getting further behind. Will the trustee allow that? Am I required to earn the same amount, can we go back to court with a new lawyer, get a new plan, do I have options?

The anxiety is unbearable and everytime something comes up that is unexpected financially, I just break down. We are getting futher behind on a monthly basis and I don't know where to turn.

Cindy

[quietsound]

so your one year into the plan? I don't know, I think i would be consulting with another lawyer and see what can be done. YOu can re-open your case if your having that much trouble making ends meet, the plan needs to be restructured it sounds like. if you cannot even get food and your having all these problems....the thing is yes you make adjustments to your life style but you do have SOME room.................you said you didn't budget for anything. i mean on the forms and all, what exactly did you all put down for your living expenses of what you spend each month.

I don't know what anyone else has to say about this but if i was in this kind of mess i would be reopening and finding a new laywer.

[treehugger1]

I would definitely look into modification of your plan. In fact, it could be that you might qualify converting to Chapter 7. You might even find a "free initial consultation" from a qualified attorney. These are nothing other than "mights," but th eimportant thing is to not panic, get a clear head, and develop a solution: perhaps modification or conversion.

[SinkingFast]

Did you file Old Law?? If so, Old Law rules are what you'd follow.

If you could have qualified for a Ch 7 before, maybe you could just convert now.

[SadSack]

We are under the new law. Our lawyer never gave us the guidelines or anything. I have found all that since then. He also told us not to work very hard for the next 5 years. We should have run and question ourselves why we didn't. We were in such denial which does not help the situation. I think after a year of this, we are now willing to start again. I appreciate your help. I think we may interview lawyers for this second round. We should have done that in the first place...interview and find someone who actually does their job. We take responsibility for what has happened. I just want to find a lawyer who takes pride in their work and will represent us accordingly. We actually ended up working more with our lawyer's assistant (no degree) than what we did with him.

I feel better just posting this. Thanks!

Cindy

[lrprn]

Cindy, fyi...most bk lawyers won't see you until you fire your first lawyer. To do that, send a registered letter relieving him/her of their obligations to represent you, and good riddance!

Once you are free of your current lawyer, make appointments with 3-4 other bankruptcy-specialty lawyers in your area for free consultations. From your description of your situation, as SF recommends, ask if you now qualify for a Ch 7. If you don't, then once you decide on a new lawyer and pay the retainer, your new lawyer can file an amended plan with your trustee. This time put realistic amounts down that actually match what you need to spend to stay afloat for the remaining years of your plan.

No one should have to be doing what you are doing to survive, even in Ch 13. Keep us posted on how things go for you, and remember we're here for support and venting as needed. Hang in there - your situation will improve once you do what is necessary to make that happen.

[SadSack]

Good, we can fire him! Thank you so much. Just from everyone's advice and caring, we are already starting to feel empowered. We have chosen 3 lawyers to call this week for interviews, have discussed how and what we will say to determine if they will meet our needs, writing the letter to dismiss/fire our lawyer, and are pulling together our paperwork. I will keep everyone posted.

You have given us direction and hope. Thank you.

Cindy

[aa06a47]

Good, we can fire him! Thank you so much. Just from everyone's advice and caring, we are already starting to feel empowered. We have chosen 3 lawyers to call this week for interviews, have discussed how and what we will say to determine if they will meet our needs, writing the letter to dismiss/fire our lawyer, and are pulling together our paperwork. I will keep everyone posted.

You have given us direction and hope. Thank you.

Cindy

You can fire him but it will more than likely cost you a pretty penny to do so. Has your current lawyer tried to help you at all?

[SadSack]

Our current lawyer has given us incorrect information or no information at all. If we question him on anything that doesn't sound correct, he says he will have to look it up to be sure. We filed in 2/06 and the lawyer said as soon as we get our tax refund, we were to turn it in. My husband questioned him on that and his response was "I'll have to look it up". No, we found out we didn't have to turn it in. It was only $200 from the state and we owed for our federal taxes.
I now wonder what the cost will be for starting over with a new lawyer, but know we cannot continue with this one. We have been asking him for the whole year what we need to do to get a vehicle and he says we have to go to court. When we try to get him to advise us of the steps, he won't give us a straight answer.
I have no idea what this will cost us to start all over again.

Cindy