So Frustrated w/ lawyers office... does this sound right?

[momof5]

Sorry to sound so impatient but this just seems ridiculious to me.... Any thoughts from those who have already gone through their BK?

We paid the attorney in full March 14th. Had an appointment March 28th to go over everything. We asked when we could finally answer our phone and redirect creditors. We were told that we would need to wait till the papers are filed and that we would be called in just a week or so when the paperwork was complete. Today, April 16th we finally get the call the paperwork is done and needs to be signed w/ the paralegal. Heres the clincher.... the next available appointment isn't until April 30th!!
Now that is just to go in and sign the final papers. I can only imagine at this rate how long after that before they get filed.
In the mean time our phone rings nearly 90 times a day (we keep the ringer off). The letters are getting demanding and threatening. I just want this filed so we can start the process.

Does this sound right?
Thanks for any thoughts or advice you can offer!

[getouttadebt]

It really depends on how truly busy your lawyer is these days. We had our original consultation in mid-Dember 2007, completed all the paperwork over the next few weeks, did not meet again to go over and sign until Jan 22, 2008. Everything was e-filed on Jan 28, 2008. You will get your BK Case # once it is filed which you can then give to any creditor. We never had to do that since the phone stopped ringing just a few days after we filed. It does not seem out of the ordinary that you have about 45 days between paying (retaining your lawyer) and the actual e-filing date. At least that is my opinion. The weeks before filing are some of the most difficult times, so just keep counting the days until April 30th...things will get better.

Good luck,
getouttadebt

[aachudneymiles]

Sorry to sound so impatient but this just seems ridiculious to me.... Any thoughts from those who have already gone through their BK?

We paid the attorney in full March 14th. Had an appointment March 28th to go over everything. We asked when we could finally answer our phone and redirect creditors. We were told that we would need to wait till the papers are filed and that we would be called in just a week or so when the paperwork was complete. Today, April 16th we finally get the call the paperwork is done and needs to be signed w/ the paralegal. Heres the clincher.... the next available appointment isn't until April 30th!!
Now that is just to go in and sign the final papers. I can only imagine at this rate how long after that before they get filed.
In the mean time our phone rings nearly 90 times a day (we keep the ringer off). The letters are getting demanding and threatening. I just want this filed so we can start the process.

Does this sound right?
Thanks for any thoughts or advice you can offer!

Sorry you have to wait and be harass by creditors. Your lawyer sounds like he has a heavy case load. I would maybe call him and express (in a nice way) your concerns and issues or maybe ask the paralegal
to call you if there is any cancellations of appointments where you can come in a sign sooner. "Just an idea" Good Luck.

[lrprn]

If you file April 30, it's the same as if you filed anytime April 1-29. The bankruptcy process is set up to run by the calendar month - as long as you file within the month, it won't change how your bankruptcy is handled by the court.

However, if your filing gets pushed into May, then that will change your six-month lookback for income to November 1, 2007 through April 30, 2008. Will that matter in your situation?

[momof5]

Thank you again for your thoughts and advice. As far as income it wont matter if its April or May but the sooner filed the sooner its over (or so I think). Whats really getting to me is that I had thought as soon as we retained him that we could direct calls his way but thats not the case.
This is a HUUUUUGE law firm here in Western New York... It has a main office in Buffalo and then many satellite offices in surrounding towns/cities. I thought that being such a big law firm would be beneficial. Now I am just not so sure

[justplaintired]

Hey, as soon as we hired and paid our lawyer in full, we were told to redirect all calls to his office. That's exactly what we did and the calls stopped. We have not filed yet. I don't know if it's different in different states, but this is what our lawyer told us to do. Matter of fact, both attorney's we talked to told us the same thing regarding phone calls. I don't understand why your lawyer is not handling these type of phone calls if he is paid in full. We retained our lawyer on Feb 14, paid in full at that time. We sent the paper work over on or around the middle to end of March. We were told at the time it would be about a month til we file, due to the volume of BK they are working on currently. I expect the file date may go into sometime in May.

I would contact this attorney about sending all calls their way. I believe in your case since you are paid in full, your attorney should be dealing with these calls, not you.

Also the first firm we talked to was a large firm, has offices in quite a few states, and even they said they would handle all our collections calls, so I definitely would contact this firm and ask why they aren't handling these calls instead of you. We do not have a case number to give to collection calls, but we just simply give our attorney's name and phone number, that is it.

Hope this helps. Afterall, why do you pay an attorney in full if they are not willing to handle some of this stress for you? Frankly, I would give them my attorney's name and number whether they liked it or not. Then I would call the attorney's office and let them know you are fowarding all calls to them. If you have to wait to file because they are swamped, then they call answer to all your creditors.

Good Luck!

[magyar123]

If creditors still call, just tell them that you are in the process of filing, signed all the papers, and give them your attorney's name and phone number. Let the attorney's office deal with them.

[momof5]

Frankly, I would give them my attorney's name and number whether they liked it or not. Then I would call the attorney's office and let them know you are fowarding all calls to them. If you have to wait to file because they are swamped, then they call answer to all your creditors.

Good Luck!

I just spoke with my husband about this and he agrees. If the paperwork is done and just waiting for them to have an open appointment for us to sign, then there should be no reason WE have to wait to get a little relief. Although I was just reading( I have been on this site for the past 5 hours!!!!) that some creditors wont stop calling until they have the BK #. We paid the attorney in full and are actually due a refund (I doubt we will ever see it though) for the debt counseling. They waved their fees but we had already paid via the attorney office.

My husband did say he was a little worried about 'ticking' them off and the ramifications of that. What gets me even more is that we probably could have gotten all this done free through legal aide as he is unemployed (starting a new job Monday!! yay!!) but we had a large income tax return and thought it would be better to pay at least this part of the whole process. The guilt of filing is bad enough. Ughhhhhhhhh...someone wake me up when this nightmare is over!

[Minnymouth]

Absolutely,
If you have retained the lawyer, especially have paid him in full, then direct all calls to his office..... he is on a retainer with you and its his job now to handle it.... including the calls. Beleive me, enough calls to his office he will file it more quickly.
Creditors KNOW that when its turned over to the attorney, then the calls have to stop or they can be fined.
So when they call, give this attorney name and phone number and case number if you have it.
Your calls should stop shortly.

Everyone experiences this for a short time, and its very nerve wrecking, so just hang in there......

[justplaintired]

Once we gave the info to the creditors, who by the way, were not rude or nasty, things got better. None yelled at us, scolded us, they all basically understood. Funny thing is, some of the people we talked to, 2 to be exact, after we explained the situation, they said that's why they don't have a cc. I thought that was amazing!

Anyway, we were nervous that they would get mad, or something horrible would happen if we told them the truth, instead, they left us alone. Our attorney told us some have called and i think just the fact we actually have an attorney is enough to put a stop to the harassing phone calls, and yes they will most likely call your attorney, that's why I would inform your attorney you will be forwarding all calls to them.

Congrats on DH new job, and after all this BK is behind you maybe like us, you will be on your road to a new financial life! Personally I can't wait to start the new way of living, we are actually already beginning, we pay cash for everything and it's awesome!

[PaKettle]

I think your attorney is either too busy or just a jerk.
If all you have to do is SIGN, that only takes 10 min. or so and if I were you I'd call him, ask to speak to him personally, and express your concern that you would like to come in and sign sooner; that you have paid him some time ago and that you would feel a lot better if you could get the signing done next week.

You should be able to refer all calls to your attorney because you have paid him. If he told you otherwise I think that's b.s. on his part, he's just neglecting his duties. Once you pay him he should take the creditors' calls in my opinion. I never heard of one who did not do things that way.

Bottom line: I think you have an attorney that is not giving you the service you deserve.

[2confused]

All of a sudden, my attorney doesn't seem so bad. He let us redirect the calls as soon as he got his $100 retainer fee.

[wayne-o]

Before you redirect all the calls to your attorney. I would look over your agreement with him and find out exactly what you paid covers. Minnymouth stated that once it is turned over to the attorney the creditors know they can be fined. Unfortunately, this is not true. Creditors do not have to quit calling until you have ACTUALLY filed. The fact that you have retained an attorney might slow them down, because it shows your serious.

Since your attorney has told you not redirect the calls to him until it is filed it might not be wise to do so beforehand. If you tick him off, you are liable to get a bill for all the time he spends on the phone with your creditors on your behalf.

[Bell30656]

I have not filed as yet. When the bottom feeding collection agents call me I tell them I have a new accountant... Her name is Helen Waite. If they want any money from me they can go to Helen Waite for it...

I'm sorry but I am less than nice with the junk debt buyers that try their best to ruin any effort you have made to get past your troubles and on with your future.

[epiphany]

All of a sudden, my attorney doesn't seem so bad. He let us redirect the calls as soon as he got his $100 retainer fee.

So did mine! And honestly, had he not, I probably would not have retained him THAT day.

Jeesh, OP, I feel for you.

ep