I may have made a wrong choice in making a deposit with an attorney for BK. A recent event has caused me to realize I was very uneducated/naive in what to expect when hiring a BK attorney in regards to what the fees covered/included etc. This has prompted me to pose the following question here in hopes to get an idea how it was for others in BK. After the question, I will share a bit about my situation for those who may want to know.
Question: What are BK Attorney fee 'norms'? Are they usually flat rate or hourly? And what should they reasonably include? I am not asking what a usual price is, as that would vary widely I imagine. I am thinking more about rate structure and 'what' is included or covered for that rate/fee. What if changes have to be made later? Do 'flat rates' usually limit you in time & # of meetings & questions even? (Obviously if paying hourly, I would imagine an attorney would welcome as many questions & meetings as you wish!) And are deposits usually refundable? What else should I "HAVE" asked/known regarding fees, what was included etc. but did not know to ask before deciding on a BK attorney?!?
Ok..feel free to reply now, or read on if you are interested or just curious even :-)
This is my situation & how I realized I did not know what to expect...and a lesson learned about not getting more than one consult!! ....
Do to many circumstances, we have been holding on by a thread financially, living on CC, but managing to make all CC payments so far. Realized one day last month that there was just no way to go on like this. I could not make another round of CC minimums, and in fact could not even pay the mortgage again. Did a quick bit of research, found this site, felt somewhat informed, and sought out a BK attorney. Found one online that I liked the profile/web page of & went for a consult. After a 1 hour initial consult (free), we were told we could file a Ch 7 & that if we were to choose to do so, it was suggested that we file sooner versus later since I had no late payments yet. We were under the impression that our assets & home would be protected when leaving this consult. I liked this attorney quite well & thought we were a good fit. I thought the consult went well enough to not need to consult with anyone else. (What is it they say about hindsight being 20/20!!) Anyway, I filled out paperwork, did pre BK counseling, went back to attorney a few days later, went over questionnaire with attorney (info they requested, statements & all that) and paid the deposit. At next meeting (to pay rest of fee & sign to file) some issues were raised that have caused me to have questions about filing, when to file, how to file, what the exemptions are etc. (I have even researched a few of those questions here while waiting on attorneys response) We were also informed at this meeting that the house was not 'totally' protected, nor would all our assets be. This is not what we expected or wanted. At that meeting (2nd one after free consult) it was suggested by attorney I wait and think about filing later after spending down assets, so no additional fee's were paid. In order to decide what to do, I felt I needed more questions answered and to get a better understanding of my options. I posed those questions in a couple of emails to the attorney. A week later the response was, in essence, that the flat rate fee included 2 one hour in person meetings and one 341(a) meeting. And that too much time had already been spent on my case (7 hours) with risk of not being fully compensated. (at this point they only have the deposit, not the full payment amount) To the attorney it seems like an excessive (I guess) amount of questions & asking for clarifications/explanations and that I am asking questions that I already asked & they answered at the previous consult/meetings. To me though, I am only asking now or asking again because I don't understand and am not clear about things & need to figure out the best way & best time to file to best protect me & give me a decent shot at a fresh start! I thought that was one of the reasons you hired an attorney, to help you figure this out & to answer questions! Now I think I was under the wrong impression. Oops.
It is obvious now that my questions and time with this attorney are being (would be if I continue with them) restricted/limited. I can sort of understand from an attorneys point of view "time is money." But as a consumer, it seems that you could get yourself in a jam if you are not allowed to ask questions and be VERY clear about anything and everything, before, during & perhaps even after filing. For me it is just uncomfortable. I am more of a 'planner & controller' and have been accused many a time of being 'paralyzed by fear' and 'over thinking things!' This time I didn't do that & I think it just bit me in the behind!!! LOL Because I now have questions that I did not think to ask previously or am not clear about or new concerns...but the 'limited meetings & time' structure is not conducive to getting answers. Never even dawned on me this would be an issue. By the way, I did not see or sign a fee agreement yet, although have now been told by the attorney that had I done so, I would have known what the fee agreement covered.
At this point, I don't know what I will do - file now, wait, find a new attorney...(although we were told when we went to pay the rest of the fees, that the deposit we had already paid was 'non-refundable'..umm a bit after the fact I think..unless I missed that detail somehow!) And I feel stuck since I can not even get answers to my questions! Although the attorney did offer to answer my questions at the rate of $225 an hour. Obviously I can't afford that. (They feel my questions were already addressed at the previous meetings, I feel the plan was changed, they feel I did not give them all the details up front, I feel I did not know what to tell them & told them all I thought I was supposed too and was honest about everything) A big 'ol misunderstanding/miscommunication I guess! No matter what the case or who's fault, if anyone, I have a bad taste in my mouth and may have to seek out more consultations and perhaps a new attorney. I don't see how I can feel comfortable moving forward with this one under these circumstances. I am truly disappointed in this as I really did like this attorney, at first at least. I don't think they did anything wrong in any way, I just think I was really uneducated, and maybe even expecting too much. I hope to learn & perhaps even educate others at the same time by posing my question and sharing my situation. Maybe my "OOPS!" will help someone else someday.
Hopefully I will at least get enough feedback here to arm me with better knowledge about what to expect!!!!
Question: What are BK Attorney fee 'norms'? Are they usually flat rate or hourly? And what should they reasonably include? I am not asking what a usual price is, as that would vary widely I imagine. I am thinking more about rate structure and 'what' is included or covered for that rate/fee. What if changes have to be made later? Do 'flat rates' usually limit you in time & # of meetings & questions even? (Obviously if paying hourly, I would imagine an attorney would welcome as many questions & meetings as you wish!) And are deposits usually refundable? What else should I "HAVE" asked/known regarding fees, what was included etc. but did not know to ask before deciding on a BK attorney?!?
Ok..feel free to reply now, or read on if you are interested or just curious even :-)
This is my situation & how I realized I did not know what to expect...and a lesson learned about not getting more than one consult!! ....
Do to many circumstances, we have been holding on by a thread financially, living on CC, but managing to make all CC payments so far. Realized one day last month that there was just no way to go on like this. I could not make another round of CC minimums, and in fact could not even pay the mortgage again. Did a quick bit of research, found this site, felt somewhat informed, and sought out a BK attorney. Found one online that I liked the profile/web page of & went for a consult. After a 1 hour initial consult (free), we were told we could file a Ch 7 & that if we were to choose to do so, it was suggested that we file sooner versus later since I had no late payments yet. We were under the impression that our assets & home would be protected when leaving this consult. I liked this attorney quite well & thought we were a good fit. I thought the consult went well enough to not need to consult with anyone else. (What is it they say about hindsight being 20/20!!) Anyway, I filled out paperwork, did pre BK counseling, went back to attorney a few days later, went over questionnaire with attorney (info they requested, statements & all that) and paid the deposit. At next meeting (to pay rest of fee & sign to file) some issues were raised that have caused me to have questions about filing, when to file, how to file, what the exemptions are etc. (I have even researched a few of those questions here while waiting on attorneys response) We were also informed at this meeting that the house was not 'totally' protected, nor would all our assets be. This is not what we expected or wanted. At that meeting (2nd one after free consult) it was suggested by attorney I wait and think about filing later after spending down assets, so no additional fee's were paid. In order to decide what to do, I felt I needed more questions answered and to get a better understanding of my options. I posed those questions in a couple of emails to the attorney. A week later the response was, in essence, that the flat rate fee included 2 one hour in person meetings and one 341(a) meeting. And that too much time had already been spent on my case (7 hours) with risk of not being fully compensated. (at this point they only have the deposit, not the full payment amount) To the attorney it seems like an excessive (I guess) amount of questions & asking for clarifications/explanations and that I am asking questions that I already asked & they answered at the previous consult/meetings. To me though, I am only asking now or asking again because I don't understand and am not clear about things & need to figure out the best way & best time to file to best protect me & give me a decent shot at a fresh start! I thought that was one of the reasons you hired an attorney, to help you figure this out & to answer questions! Now I think I was under the wrong impression. Oops.
It is obvious now that my questions and time with this attorney are being (would be if I continue with them) restricted/limited. I can sort of understand from an attorneys point of view "time is money." But as a consumer, it seems that you could get yourself in a jam if you are not allowed to ask questions and be VERY clear about anything and everything, before, during & perhaps even after filing. For me it is just uncomfortable. I am more of a 'planner & controller' and have been accused many a time of being 'paralyzed by fear' and 'over thinking things!' This time I didn't do that & I think it just bit me in the behind!!! LOL Because I now have questions that I did not think to ask previously or am not clear about or new concerns...but the 'limited meetings & time' structure is not conducive to getting answers. Never even dawned on me this would be an issue. By the way, I did not see or sign a fee agreement yet, although have now been told by the attorney that had I done so, I would have known what the fee agreement covered.
At this point, I don't know what I will do - file now, wait, find a new attorney...(although we were told when we went to pay the rest of the fees, that the deposit we had already paid was 'non-refundable'..umm a bit after the fact I think..unless I missed that detail somehow!) And I feel stuck since I can not even get answers to my questions! Although the attorney did offer to answer my questions at the rate of $225 an hour. Obviously I can't afford that. (They feel my questions were already addressed at the previous meetings, I feel the plan was changed, they feel I did not give them all the details up front, I feel I did not know what to tell them & told them all I thought I was supposed too and was honest about everything) A big 'ol misunderstanding/miscommunication I guess! No matter what the case or who's fault, if anyone, I have a bad taste in my mouth and may have to seek out more consultations and perhaps a new attorney. I don't see how I can feel comfortable moving forward with this one under these circumstances. I am truly disappointed in this as I really did like this attorney, at first at least. I don't think they did anything wrong in any way, I just think I was really uneducated, and maybe even expecting too much. I hope to learn & perhaps even educate others at the same time by posing my question and sharing my situation. Maybe my "OOPS!" will help someone else someday.
Hopefully I will at least get enough feedback here to arm me with better knowledge about what to expect!!!!
Waiting for February 14 2011, date objections due. 
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