A little about my situation and question on attorney?

[momof2boys]

Hi Everyone, Im new to this forum...we have already met with 2 lawyers for consultations, the thing is we are in a small town with maybe like 2-3 attorneys here that handle bankruptcy cases. So we have been calling other attorneys in New Mexcio who handle cases from are area. We really can not afford to file right now, but we would like a payment plan of some kind to retain him so he can start taking calls from creditors. We quit paying are loans/credit cards about 1 1/2 months ago but still havent saved much at all since most of that is going towards baby stuff. We have are second son Due in December. My hubby will be getting a second job and that will help alittle..but Im wondering...both lawyers told us we should file 7 since we are below the means test. We dont have any assets, just are car which isnt paid off, we are current on it. Anyway though, will they be able to do a payment plan for Ch 7. Because i hear under the new law they can only do payment plans for Ch 13. We would like to retain one as soon as possible but im wondering how long they would be able to take calls before we file...do you think any creditors will still try and sue if we retained a lawyer but havent filed? Thanks so much in advance

[cathywhite4495]

The lawyers won't file your case until you have their entire fee paid. Many will let you make payments and then when it's all paid, they file.
Not sure about the other question.
Welcome and good luck!

[emandmeagsmom]

I know we had to pay a retainer to our lawyer and then was able to make payments to him. After we retained him, we sent all the calls to him.. It only took us around a month to get him paid then he filed for us. Good luck on the baby and try not to let this stress get to you.

[momof2boys]

Thanks so much for your replies See we would have no problem paying the retainment fee and making payments after that, but i dont think we will be able to pay him in full until January and im wondering if he would take calls that long. I dont want to sound crazy when i call and ask that....Its just are situation is pretty bad right now We need to get the collectors off are butts and all are extra money is going to the baby....ugh! It is hard not to let the stress get to me but Im really trying..i know things will get better for us, we just need a solution to this mess.

[PaKettle]

Usually an attorney (in my experience anyway) will allow you to refer calls to him as soon as you pay him the retainer, which was only $300 with my attorney. I would ask how much they require for retainer and not mention how long it's going to take to pay them the full amount. Just tell them you plan to make payments when you can and let it go at that.

I'm not sure what you mean by a payment plan? Do you mean for the atttorney fees, or for the car? The attorney can certainly do a payment plan, and if you want to keep your car you can sometimes reaffirm although many attorneys say not to reaffirm and if you keep your payments current they are not likely to repossess it. Please clarify the question.

[momof2boys]

Im wondering if the attorney can do a payment plan for chapter 7...are car payments are current, so i guess that would be considered exempt right? There are many lawyers we called who will not do a payment plan and their retainment fee is their full fee..which to me sounds crazy..I think we will look around more for an attorney in the area willing to take the retainment fee.

[jbr12]

I guess the confusion is... what is the payment plan for? A payment plan to pay your attorney fees, or are you thinking of a different payment plan?

[momof2boys]

A payment plan to pay the attorney fees is what im talking about...im wondering if they will be able to let us make payments at all and while we are making them payments will they take collection calls. Im sure there are some out there but the ones we have reached will not take any collection calls till we have full payment...im also so leery on attorneys...I want to find a good honest one, but there isnt much selection in this area. My hubby is in the military and we are stationed in a tiny town. There are a few lawyers who will handle cases from are area but they are like 3 hours away and we will be doing most of the stuff by phone and mail...and i would really like to have one i could meet with in person.

[lrprn]

...our car payments are current, so i guess that would be considered exempt right?

Sorry, doesn't work that way. You have to look at your state's vehicle exemption to see if your cars are protected or not.

What state are you in, Mom? We can help you figure this out if we know your state, how many cars, each car's current sale value, and how much you still owe on each to the lenders.

[cathywhite4495]

The reason lawyers won't file your case until you've paid the full fee is because the debt would be discharged under the Chapter 7 and then they wouldn't get paid. I also live in a small town and most lawyers are 3 hours away (we're not in the same town are we? ) and I wasn't impressed by the local lawyer I talked to. You will probably find one that will start taking collection calls after a retainer but I don't think the filing will happen until you're paid.
There is a comfort factor in meeting with somebody in person but I would advise that you also interview some of the long-distance ones too and then hire the one who seems the most competent. It might be more of a pain to do it long distance but it would be worth it if you got a better attorney.

[momof2boys]

Thanks so much...see i didnt know about the car, we have a Nissan Xterra(2004) and we live in New Mexico, we bought it for 23,900 and im not sure exactly how much we owe, i will get that later on today, we bought it in Janaury 2005 and have been paying almost $400.00 a month since then. The first lawyer that we talked to said we wouldnt lose the car if we are current...Im wondering if he was just telling us what we wanted to hear.

[cathywhite4495]

Your lawyer was probably right about the car. Depending on your state's exemptions, you can exempt some or all of the equity you have in the car. If you want to keep it, you would reaffirm the loan which means you would still be responsible for the debt after the bankruptcy. You have to be current with payments in order to reaffirm.

[PaKettle]

You can probably keep the car, but I'm no attorney so I can't say for sure. But the attorneys I talked with said it usually isn't in their best interest to repossess and if you keep payments current, they'd rather let you keep making payments in most cases.

Keep looking for an attorney that will give you service with a retainer fee. Mine is letting me refer calls to him after paying him only $300. You might try www.nacba.com or http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/find_an_attorney.htm. I found one attorney I liked via www.nacba.com and I read good things here about totalbankruptcy.com.

I was happy I found an attorney who I could meet and talk to in person, nearby. But I think if you have slim pickin's , getting one who deals with you by phone and email isn't that bad. You don't meet with them much, anyway. The main thing is for you to find one who is both competent and affordable and who will let you refer calls to them with a low retainer.

As to the calls, they sorta bugged me but my wife said, "What's the big deal? I just turn the message machine down when I hear them, then erase it. No big deal!" We got about 5 a day for the past coupla months. Get a message machine, turn the ringer off on your phone and keep the volume down on the message machine to where you can hear it in case someone calls but to where it isn't real loud. Then, just turn it down when an unwanted call comes in and turn it back up after that call. Erase it, you don't need to hear it, they're just looking for money you don't have! ;-) Let your friends and family know that you will be screening calls so they'll need to leave a message for the next coupla months.

[lrprn]

Thanks so much...see i didnt know about the car, we have a Nissan Xterra(2004) and we live in New Mexico, we bought it for 23,900 and im not sure exactly how much we owe, i will get that later on today, we bought it in Janaury 2005 and have been paying almost $400.00 a month since then. The first lawyer that we talked to said we wouldnt lose the car if we are current...Im wondering if he was just telling us what we wanted to hear.

Here's the link to the New Mexico exemptions - http://www.bankruptcyinformation.com/NM_exemp.htm

The exemption for motor vehicles is $4000 plus there's a $500 wildcard. If you don't own a house, then the wild card increases to $2000.

According to Edmunds.com, depending on whether your 2004 Nissan Xterra is SE or XE and the style, the car is worth about $11-13,000. As long as you owe enough on your loan to get the equity in your car below $4,500 (or $6,500 if you don't own a house), then your car is safe.

Also about reaffirming.....if you live in a state that doesn't allow repossession if your payments are on time (your lawyer will know this), you don't have to reaffirm - just keep the payments up to date.

[momof2boys]

Thank You so much for all this information. We have went through both sites to find and attorney. We will calling them tomorrow to schedule a consultation by phone or in person...they are all out of town since there was not any in this town...no suprise there lol But if we have to, we will go down to their office. Im hoping to find a good attorney by the end of the week and retain him. As for the vehicle. We still owe 16-17,000 on it, we bought it for 23,900. Im not sure if its and SE or XE..i would have to ask my hubby...you can tell i dont know much about that kind of stuff. Are vehicle is one of the main things we are concerned about. We are current though and I know thats a good thing...we will just be asking the attorneys lots of questions. Thanks so much