Attny Forgetting Details...should I be nervous?

[diebroccoli]

So, the Attny i am using was highly recommended, has been doing this for 40+ years, and knows anyone and everyone in my district as it relates to BK (judges, TTs, etc). HOWEVER, I am beginning to get nervous because he seems to be missing/forgetting details frequently. Not sure if its his age (70+) or just his busy schedule, but he constantly asks for the same info with each meeting. From little things like my phone #, to big things like forgetting which house (rental) has the HELOC on it.

Should i be nervous that this is occurring? Or do the paralegals and other staff handle the nitty-gritty, while the Attny takes care of the big picture?

My CH7 is somewhat complicated as it involves a small biz that we'll be keeping, 2 homes, me and the wife, and plenty of assets. I dont want to leave anything to chance, and his forgetfulness is making me uneasy

[DeadManCrawling]

Assets? You are in Florida right?

You should not have any assets in a ch7. There really is no need to.

You can legally liquidate assets up until the day before filing and pump the money into your homestead, assuming you have one.

Florida is unique in this respect. It is NOT considered fraud, no lookback applies. This is why I say you should have no assets.

This applies even to assets like tax returns, non-exempt cash and securities, even the sale of things like art, jewellery and furs.

Can't suggest anything about the attorney, except that if he is as highly regarded as you suggest, you are probably okay. Just make sure to doublecheck all paperwork before it is filed.

[diebroccoli]

should have clarified, its all biz assets that we need to continue running the biz...there are very little to no personal assets to speak of.

Our homestead property is only 2 years old, so there really isnt anything that we can do to it. That we can afford anyway, cause i'd really like to have that lagoon pool in the Backyard

[DeadManCrawling]

Are you looking at buying back the business or assets from the business?

I have a similar situation, but without the headache, since I AM the business, but like to look for others experiences to compare to.

Without me there is no business, as I am a consultant paid per job, and there isn't any equipment or assets to speak of.

How are they valuing the business stock shares, or the intellectual property? Is there inventory and contracts, vendors and employees?

If you have told your story elsewhere, can you please link it? I am very intested, in case there are common points I need to be aware of.

Best wishes!

[diebroccoli]

Awesome! Well, awesome that we might have a similar situation, not that we have to file

Here's a recap of our situation:

- I am 100% owner/operator of a small LLC. There are no employees other than me
- We have approx $90k in inventory, wholesale cost, plus about $10k in various equipment/machinery
- Our debt is virtually all biz debt, about 75k in CCs, and we are 80k upside down on the rental. B/c the rental is not our primary home, and the HELOCs on it were used mostly to build our biz, it is considered non consumer debt. Hence our ability to file CH7 and not worry about the means test
- Though i have inventory, i too am the business. It could not operate without my intimate knowledge and daily input/work
- It is a niche industry and therefore would be VERY difficult to liquidate the inventory
- As total liquidation would fetch maybe $10k (if the TT could even locate a buyer), we are going to buy back the biz from the TT

According to my Attny, they are going to send an appraiser to our warehouse and assess value. Though they will have a hard time determining value, and my Attny has advised me it will mostly be based on my input and answers to the appraisers questions.

Most of my concerns have to do with the fact that this is a profitable business and the chance of the UST turning this into a CH 13. My wife is losing her job and we have a rental property that is falling apart and severely upside down. So, i dont think we could continue as is, but i dont want a UST coming in and saying otherwise.

I also have some secondary concerns about cash flow during the CH7 process. Specifically, we need 5-10k in our account to operate the business at any given time. But, i do understand that the day you file, all cash is effectively the TTs.

We have so many specific and detailed questions, that i think our Atny is just having trouble keeping track. hence my OP.