Second consultation details.

[optimistic1]

So, I just had my second consultation.

It was a little bit different from the first. I don't know if the guy was a paralegal or a attorney, I would guess the latter.

Regardless, he was informative, and advised me, that because we are in a community property state, and I filed a Ch. 7, 4 years ago. That if my wife filed a Ch. 7 and tried to discharge her debt, the creditors might come after me, and he used the phrase "rolling the dice".

Well, I dont like to gamble, period, so scratch that idea.

So, on he goes to actually start calculating out my income on his computer and runs some preliminary numbers.

Based on my income, and the types of debt that I have, he stated that my payment should be $300 at the most, but they will "fight for the lowest payment".

I couldnt agree more. lol

So, this attorney sounds very promising, they stated, that, If I wait until the baby is born and we are under median, then, we would have a 36-60 month plan. Which is what I really want.

But you know what I love about this forum, is that it makes me so familiar with the terminology and specifics, that I actually corrected him a few times.

The one bad thing, but its actually good, cause it makes my payment lower, is that they wanted half of their fees upfront, including the filing fee and some other fee. The total due up front was $2289. They spelled out their fee on paper.

The last attorney I had before this one, tried to lie to me and said that his fee is determined by the court, and he had a very bad stuttering problem, lol.

So with all that said, I am looking forward to having our first born, and looking forward to paying around $300 a month compared to $1100 a month.

Haven't retained yet though, going to another one later today.

Thanks everyone.

[liz417]

Wow, this attorney sounds good. Remember, when you finally do retain him (or any attorney), that you won't really know what your payment will be until you fill out your expense forms. Our attorney (I retained him THEN found this wonderful site after) estimated our monthly payment around $400 for 5 years, it wasn't until I got home and combed over our monthly expenses for the exact numbers (I use Quicken, so it was really easy to look back), did I realized that there were a lot of expenses that I "forgot" to include in our initial consultation because they weren't paid on a monthly basis. With everything included (and a little padded ), I am in the -negative .

The only negative thing is our attorney wants his fees paid in full before he files our case (vs. rolled into the plan).

Good Luck!

[optimistic1]

Well, he factored in that my payment would be $300 using software, he punched in the crammed car loan, the back taxes, the remaining fees and the trustee fees, if we are under median and DMI is negative, unsecured gets 0%. He used the IRS expenses, not my actual expenses, which I am still confused about, he was running the means, that's why I guess. I already have a expenses spreadsheet from a California Attorneys website, that is really helpful to use and print. With this, I was able to see that I could actually afford a $300 monthly payment, and if it needs to be less, then I can always modify it to last longer than the 36 month period. When I use this same calculator to factor in my car payment where it stands right now, and include day care costs, I would be in the negative as well.

Expense calculator link for people to use.

http://www.ca-bankruptcy-attorneys.com/calculators/expense_calculator.html

[optimistic1]

Had my second consultation of the day and boy did this guy stink!

He didnt calculate anything! Yet, he charged the same amount than the first one today!

I was very dissapointed with this guy, he actually mocked me and asked me if I was a bus driver! I had my uniform T-Shirt on, it has a Transportation Dept Logo on it.

The first thing out of his mouth was, "so you have some financial problems huh?".

I thought to myself, "gee, whatever gave you that idea, sherlock...."

So it just goes to show you that you should schedule multiple consultations and base your decision on your experiences.

[liz417]

I was very dissapointed with this guy, he actually mocked me and asked me if I was a bus driver! I had my uniform T-Shirt on, it has a Transportation Dept Logo on it.

The first thing out of his mouth was, "so you have some financial problems huh?".

I thought to myself, "gee, whatever gave you that idea, sherlock.....

LOL!!!
I'd go with the second guy....good luck!

[optimistic1]

Definetely NOT going with the second guy, and I dont even think I can call him a attorney with the way he performed. More than likely I am hiring the first firm, that actually ran my numbers and actually looked at my paycheck stubs, the first one I had last week didnt look at them either, thats a big red flag for me. Dont ask me to bring them if all your gonna do is tell me how a CH. 13 works.

[liz417]

Definetely NOT going with the second guy, and I dont even think I can call him a attorney with the way he performed. More than likely I am hiring the first firm, that actually ran my numbers and actually looked at my paycheck stubs, the first one I had last week didnt look at them either, thats a big red flag for me. Dont ask me to bring them if all your gonna do is tell me how a CH. 13 works.

Opps! I guess I read the "second" half of your story wrong! I thought the 2nd attorney had your payment around $300...
Go with the attorney you feel most comfortable and trust, you're in for the next 3-5 years.

[optimistic1]

No, the 2nd attorney couldnt even figure out a number, he had this briefcase too, it looked like something the Goodwill would have thrown away instead of trying to sell. I couldnt believe it, a new briefcase at Ross costs like $12, he cant even buy that to make himself look professional.

The first one I spoke to today I had to correct, he tried telling me I couldnt file a 13 until I was 4 years away from my 2004 Ch.7 BK, which is totally false. The 4 year rule applies to actually receiving a discharge, not filing a 13. He later, looked it up and said I was right. That felt pretty good.

[liz417]

No, the 2nd attorney couldnt even figure out a number, he had this briefcase too, it looked like something the Goodwill would have thrown away instead of trying to sell. I couldnt believe it, a new briefcase at Ross costs like $12, he cant even buy that to make himself look professional. LOL!!

The first one I spoke to today I had to correct, he tried telling me I couldnt file a 13 until I was 4 years away from my 2004 Ch.7 BK, which is totally false. The 4 year rule applies to actually receiving a discharge, not filing a 13. He later, looked it up and said I was right. That felt pretty good.

Maybe you should file pro se? I bet you'd do a better job

[optimistic1]

I thought about it, but I think I would screw something up, I'm not as smart as Justbroke. So looks like I have to shell out the 2 grand.

[deepend]

Where are you finding the attorneys you are interviewing? I'm about to start talking to attorneys as well and am glad to read about your experiences so I have some idea of how it goes. I've searched on line and found a few in my area - the ones advertising on tv seem a little like used car salespeople but maybe they are okay? Have you had better luck with internet attorneys, or tv advertising or something else?

[optimistic1]

If I was you, I would stay away from the TV attorneys. Check your yellow pages, and pick a firm that only does bankruptcy law, and has been practicing it for several years within you city/state. Also, you can google your local state bar, and check on each individual firm/attorney for complaints and such, it might also tell when they actually were certified with the state bar. Good luck