It Gets Worse! HELP!!!!

[busted]

After all these weeks, our home foreclosure sale is on the 13th, next week, and now our attorney that we've been talking with just called and said that because of our case being so difficult he will need a retainer of $5,000.00!

Our case is not THAT freakin difficult! I have never heard of such a high price and that isnt even his total price, he hasnt given us that yet.

If we had that kind of money, we would not be losing our home next week.

Does anyone know of an attorney that can help us that would be cheaper in Richmond VA?

How much do attorneys usually charge for bk7???

Help! We are at our wits end. We need to pack and be out of her by next few weeks and now we cant even file!

Help!

[freshstart06]

delete, read back post, your case is different.

[HHM]

Looking back at your old posts

http://bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=14206

Honestly, I am not surprised...your BK is nowhere near standard. Granted, based on the little information we have, I am not in a good position to evaluate whether the $5,000 is reasonable, and what the attorney thinks is going to happen in the case to justify the fee, but at the same time, given your circumstances, tons of business debt, broken leases, real estate issues, a bad business partner where you are a creditor in that persons BK, your case is not run-of-the-mill and you can expect to have to pay substantially more, to have a "successful" BK. Sure, if you want to pay someone $1,000 to fill out your paperwork and leave you at the mercy of the court, you can do that (and odds are your BK will be entirely screwed up).

Think of this...when an attorney needs to charge a higher than average fee in a BK case, the COURT looks at that and the attorney will have to justify that fee. So, in general, attorney's don't throw around "high fee quotes" just to see if they can get a higher fees (your not buying milk at the grocery store where price is the only major concern), at some point the trustee and the judge will scrutinize the higher fee.

What I think the attorney is doing is protecting his financial stake in you case in the event of the worse case scenario. In cases like yours, creditors tend to show-up and put-up a fight. And given the complexity of your situation, what most attorney's charge for a routine BK ($1000-$1200) will get chewed up in simply evaluating your case, reviewing documents, and doing basic investigation.

What you want to do is have the attorney itemize their bill, that way, if things go good for you, there is a chance you would not use the entire $5,000).

[JRScott]

Busted I'm sorry to hear about these new problems .

I do agree though with HHM, your case is not very simple. My case was very simple having no assets etc. I realize you might not have the money to pay the lawyer but is there anything you can do to get the money. Far better the lawyer give you a big figure up front then a small one and then demand more later. He's probably trying to deal straight with you as HHM says. Just get the itemized list and their might be a refund of unused portion.

I don't know of anyone in your area but with the date only 7 days away gonna be hard to get a good second opinion in time to do something, still you could try. Maybe look in the phone book in your area. Maybe go to the lawyer and explain you don't have that much, come up with a payment plan.

I do sincerely wish you the best and hope it all gets sorted out. I'm sorry about the con that took so much money . In fact your lawyer might be considering that into his fee, thinking he's gonna have to go after this person.

[freshstart06]

Busted, you are going to have to file emergency petition just to buy you time at your home and stop the foreclosure. In the meanwhile see if you can work something out with your Lawyer or find another one quick.

Please stay strong, you are going to need a level head during these times, trust me, I had to move out as well with 4 kids. This a scary time but it will get better.

[busted]

HHM, we have thought this out and agree with everything you posted. We will have to try to find someone to loan us this money, and pray that we can.

Another question on what you had mentioned about the creditors showing up at dh's meeting, do you really think many of them will show up. Is that the normal for them to show up. The con partner only had one creditor show up and that was from a personal partnership deal that he conned someone else on. We are very nervous about who will show up and what questions will be asked. DH paid these creditors on these leases for a very long time but he only stopped when we ran out of resources to pull from.

See my other post for an update on con's trustee.

[HHM]

Creditors don't have to come to the 341 meeting to "appear" in the case. But if a creditor was going to do something, any half-wit attorney would take the opportunity to ask you questions at the 341 meeting and lock you in to a certain story.

I am just laying out the worst case scenario. All I am saying, with cases similar to yours, the chances of creditors getting involved is better than 50/50. But at the same time, there are cases similar to yours where nothing adverse happens. Honestly, unless I had all the details of your case, who is to say. However, since your attorney is asking for a significant retainer, I am guessing your case is more complicated than has been laid-out here. I suspect that if were dealing with a business and significant sums of money, I am sure there are going to be govt. creditors (i.e. state, local, and federal tax issues), a default on a lease is not a "debt" in the true sense....there are just all sorts of issues that could arise.

I hope nothing adverse happens, I am just trying to give you some context to understand why the attorney is asking for the increased retainer (that was your original question). I am not really in a position to speculate about how bad or good your specific case will go, but based on the info you have provided, I would guess that your case will take some time to sort out.

[busted]

Thanks HHM, and everyone. We are trying our best to keep our heads up.

[JRScott]

Good Luck Busted I'm keeping you in my prayers.

[busted]

Thanks JRScott, we need it