More I read, More I Worry

[nomoretogive]

I went to an attorney's office Wed. for an initial consultation. They only do BK and have offices all over my state. I only spoke to a paralegal. He looked at my debts. I have around $40K unsecured. One account is almost 2 years old, one is almost a year old. I only have one more cc account and it has been ongoing since 2004 (this one I last charged on in mid March). The two former accounts were checks from the cc companies. I did no further charging on them except (why is there always that word) for $2000 in mid April on the one I first took out in fall of '07. The $2000 was to pay $800 to keep health insurance up for 4 months and the other I used to pay bills. I work a job that you get laid off in the summer. I hope to obtain employment elsewhere but have yet to find a job. I know I will be called back in August. I have worked there 2 years. All the talk on cash advances has me worried especially since I read if you have a creditor object, you have to pay the lawyer more. I told the paralegal all this (thanks to this forum) and he acted like no problem???? Sorry this so long and confusing. I am having so many worries like all else on here that I am literally sick. I do have chronic condition that made it impossible to do without health insurance. I just worry that my paralegal acts like no problem. Of course he said I would be talking to the attorney I guess after I pay my money. But I thought to myself, why should they care if there is an objection, that may mean more money for them. Just wanted a take on this when someone has time. Thanks again guys.

[nomoretogive]

Forgot to mention I have been making payments until this month. Did not intend on that to happen until a little later but money has gotten too tight. My husband works construction and has not got to work much this month on account of weather. I really don't plan to file until July or so

[epiphany]

I for one wouldn't retain a lawyer that didn't give me a personal consultation. Shop around...there are plenty of them that are willing to talk to you personally.

When I was looking for lawyers, there was one I really wanted (that I found on the web) because she was a former bankruptcy judge in my area. When I called her office she wouldn't come to the phone for a phone consultation. Her assistant (I doubt that she was even a paralegal from the way she spoke) asked me questions and then would go ask her questions and come back to me.

Finally I was quoted a price of 3000 dollars limited to 20 creditors and payable in half immediately and half in 30 days. It was all very clinical. I definitely didn't get the warm fuzzies and eighty sixed that plan.

Listen to your gut. Look through a few attornies until you find one that will treat you like a human being.

As far as the cash advances go, the more time you put between them and the time you file the better. If you can stomach another 5 months of non payment and creditor phone calls, then do it. But for now, find an attorney you are comfortable with and run it by him/her. He/She will be able to give you the best advice regarding your situation.

Just my opinion, but I would not settle on the word of a paralegal.

Best of luck to you,

ep

[nomoretogive]

Thanks. Their main office is in another city not far away. I wondered about that too when I spoke to only a paralegal. But thought maybe they let him do the leg work first as far as getting inititial info. I suspect lots of people do come in for consultations and they never hear from them again. It confused me because they claim to handle the majority of the BK cases in my state. Thanks again

[Flamingo]

All the paralegal did and was allowed to do was to obtain your information and ask you certain questions so a case could be formed that would be presented to the attorney. A paralegal cannot give legal advice but can put together information and research information for the attorney. That law office is taking "free consultation" to the max by not even having an attorney present. They are getting by cheaply on that one. Epiphany is right that you should question this...I would and I am a paralegal!! When you have an initial consultation for BK or any other matter, whether it is free or not it should be with an attorney so that when you leave the office your questions are answered and you have an idea as to what is or isn't going to happen.

Shop around....

[PaKettle]

I for one wouldn't retain a lawyer that didn't give me a personal consultation. Shop around...there are plenty of them that are willing to talk to you personally.

When I was looking for lawyers, there was one I really wanted (that I found on the web) because she was a former bankruptcy judge in my area. When I called her office she wouldn't come to the phone for a phone consultation. Her assistant (I doubt that she was even a paralegal from the way she spoke) asked me questions and then would go ask her questions and come back to me.

Finally I was quoted a price of 3000 dollars limited to 20 creditors and payable in half immediately and half in 30 days. It was all very clinical. I definitely didn't get the warm fuzzies and eighty sixed that plan.

Listen to your gut. Look through a few attornies until you find one that will treat you like a human being.

As far as the cash advances go, the more time you put between them and the time you file the better. If you can stomach another 5 months of non payment and creditor phone calls, then do it. But for now, find an attorney you are comfortable with and run it by him/her. He/She will be able to give you the best advice regarding your situation.

Just my opinion, but I would not settle on the word of a paralegal.

Best of luck to you,

ep

'
EP, I think I know exactly which attorney you talked to that had the "paralegal" talk to you and then she'd go talk to the attorney then come back etc... and then quoted me a price that was twice as high as any other attorney! Ha!

NOMORETOGIVE, I would NOT use that attorney if I were you. A consultation should be with an attorney so that you can get a clear picture of whether or not you qualify for a 7. Most attorneys can tell you if your case is a clear cut 7, a possible 13 or a for sure 13 at the end of that 1st consultation.

But, here's the big BUT:
You have to give them all the info they need to make that decision:
How much do you owe? How much secured vs. unsecured debt. How much did you make - exactly - gross - in the past 6 months? How much do you pay for rent/mortgage, car payment, utilities, all fixed expenses... There's a post I made here about this a couple months ago if you care to look it up.

But if I were you, I personally would seek out at least 2 more attorneys and take them the above info (or by phone) and see if you can find an attorney that is more directly involved in the consultation and who is well qualified and can give you a good feeling about their competence and their communicativeness.

There are some links in maybe the General Bankruptcy forum for finding attorneys. One is www.nacba.com.

As to your cash advances (or balance transfers; same thing as far as we're concerned), the $2k in April could be a bit of a problem if you don't wait 3 months (July) to file. But if you file in July that could interfere with your going back to work in August. If you go back to work in August, will it put you over the median for the means test?

These are all issues to discuss in your consultations.

I'm NOT an attorney, nor do I play one on tv, nor even on the net. But I would think that your $2k might be okay if you've made payments on it, and in any case, if they object on just that one debt, you can probably agree to pay back half. In any case it should not affect the rest of your discharge. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. Most banks (is it a bank?) will not object for only $2k because they'll only likely get half of that back and it's not worth it to them.

Good luck.

[nomoretogive]

I will most definitely shop around a bit more. My going back to work will not make much difference. It doesn't pay much. I am there for health insurance reasons only. Thanks again.