What do you take to a consultation w/ a bk attorney?

[newstart4me]

I will be making calls to attorneys tomorrow, and need a little advice. I want to gather/organize things now so I can meet w/attorneys ASAP. Of course they will tell me when I call, but if I prepare a generic package of materials/info etc...I'll be ready to hit the ground running. It also eliminates some stress for me as well. Thank you all for sharing your insight and experience!

1. What materials/docs should I take? (cc statements? If so, how far back? pay stubs? copy of credit report?)

2. What types of questions do I need to be prepared to answer? (Should I type up some answers?

3. How long will the appointment last?

4. What questions (other than how much $$ will it cost) should I ask them?

5. What are the issues I may not have thought about that I'll need to address?

Thanks again for your assistance and support!

[Flamingo]

They will tell you what to bring when you make an appointment. What you need is (1) a listing of all your debts and monthly payments; (2) Recent paystubs and a list of any other income source (i.e., child support, etc.); (3) listing of assets (house, stocks, bonds, savings/checking accounts, 401(k), IRA, etc.); and (4) copies of your most recent tax returns, state and federal. From that they will be able to determine what Chapter you can file. They will ask most of the questions but it's always good to have a listing of thoughts/questions they may not come up with. They will tell you the price so you don't have to worry about that! Or they may give you a phamplet (as we were given) listing the cost and what will be done during the appointment and what to do if you decide to retain the firm/attorney to represent you. All lawyers/firms are different in the way they handle their cases. You should not be in there that long for the appointment. We were maybe 35/40 minutes. When we decided to retain the attorney we were there longer for our second appointment - maybe an hour or so and we were given a ton of paperwork to fill out and return since we filed a CHapter 13.

[AngelinaCat]

Dear newstart4me:

My advice is to make a 3 ring notebook of everything financial in your life for the past year; paystubs, bonuses, gifts, bills, cc bills, utilities, tax returns for the past 3 years, anything else you can possibly think of--and then STRETCH YOUR IMAGINATION--(don't mean to shout, but this is one of the things that BIT us in the rear: have you EVER signed a note for anyone else for any reason? Have you ever put your name on someone else's bank account, or deposit box account for any reason? Or have you ever TRANSFERED something from one person to another?
If so, you must disclose it.

Arrange the notebook by date so that you can easily show your prospective attorney all your matters. Staples has good sales on binder organizers now and again.

Even if you think this is unnecessary, I assure you that when you go in to your prospective attorney, you will show that YOU are in control (even if it is a big bluff). Plus, having organized your papers, you will have re-familiarized yourself with them and thus be more able to jump to that portion of the book asked for.

We did not do this. We went in trusting that our attorney was a professional and would advise us of every step on the way that we needed to take.

Yeah, Right.

Thus, we are reaping the results of our ignorance and gullability; though we think things may be happening in the background that may be favorable. We don't know and can only hope and pray. For more details, search on our nics of AngelinaCat, and AngelinaCatHub.

Good luck to you, and let us know how it goes.

[justplaintired]

We took our last 3 tax returns, paystubs for a month or longer. Our most current mortgage statements and cc statements. We took a list of our assets, such as cars we owned. He ran our credit report which listed all our debts. The first attorney had us fill out a very basic questionnaire, which basically wanted our financial info. It probably took us a little under an hour for the consult, and it was painless. After they review your paperwork, they can tell you what chapter you can file and let you know basically how things will go.

Good luck and don't worry, it's a relief actually.

[PaKettle]

Here's a thread that might be helpful:

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=21810

[oldrocker]

I didn't see any reason to take 10 tons of paper to my consult, I had 2 sheets of paper that had everything the lawyer needed. First sheet had all our debts, cards and loans, tax debt and secured debt. Also listed the car we owed nothing on. Other sheet had our last 6 months income listed month by month plus I even totaled and averaged it for him. Unless there is something unusual about your case that is really all he needs. Not sure why the need to make a consult lawyer wade through reams of paperwork when you can summerize everything that is needed and make things easier and quicker. A third sheet with questions wouldn't be a bad idea, mine were in my head.

[newstart4me]

Thanks for the additional input you 'guys'. What a godsend you all are! : ) I hope what I post is as helpful to someone else as your posts have been to me. I have moments when I burst into tears, but I calm down and read more gems posted by the caring and thoughtful people here, and I feel better. Yes it's challenging...overwhelming at times. : ( However, there is more and more visible light at the end of the tunnel.