My opinion on hiring an attorney for your chapter 13 case

[ariesfire]

desprit....You very well could be correct, but since he will not communicate with us how are we to know? I cannot find our agreement to verify this, however I was under the belief the attorney is in it for the long haul.

[ariesfire]

It has been a long roak

Not correct. . . If the work requested was not covered in the fee agreement, the attny charges the client. That new fee may or may not be paid through the Plan. Just depends if it is worth modifying the Plan to add the funding. Most of the time it is too costly to modify an already approved Plan so payment arrangements outside the Plan are made between the client and the attny.



Not necessarily the case. In my “professional” opinion (for whatever that is worth), you will find sole practitioners are more responsive to their clients since they take a personal interest in each case. That is not to say that you won’t find ones that are idiots but that goes with larger firms as well. I believe your best recourse if your attny is not communicating with you is a call to the State Bar.



Congratulations. A job well done.

Des.

Thanks, it has been a long road, and as annoying as my attorneys lack of communication is I do not want to jam him up since nothing legally negative has happened at this point. I was told by the trustees office that attorney fees can be billed through the trustee. My attorney is aware of this and I also told him (via voice mail) if it was the money I personally would pay him. However I do not believe the money has anything to do with his non communication. I do not even know if it is within the legal framework for me to pay him directly, since he would not talk to me I do not know the proper protocol for these matters. So my wife and I decided to just do what we need to and be done with it (the chapter 13) and hopefully his services will not be required for the discharge. If so the court will communicate this to my attorney. (An assumption I hope is correct.)

[despritfreya]

Keep in mind an attorney can charge the trustee for payment if additional legal cost beyond the filing are incurred

Not correct. . . If the work requested was not covered in the fee agreement, the attny charges the client. That new fee may or may not be paid through the Plan. Just depends if it is worth modifying the Plan to add the funding. Most of the time it is too costly to modify an already approved Plan so payment arrangements outside the Plan are made between the client and the attny.

For those thinking of filing chapter 13 my suggestion is to hire a firm with a staff with a boss you can complain to if your attorney is not responsive. Individual attorneys can get so busy they do not have time for you.

Not necessarily the case. In my “professional” opinion (for whatever that is worth), you will find sole practitioners are more responsive to their clients since they take a personal interest in each case. That is not to say that you won’t find ones that are idiots but that goes with larger firms as well. I believe your best recourse if your attny is not communicating with you is a call to the State Bar.

It will be 40 days till the end of our Chapter 13

Congratulations. A job well done.

Des.

[lillymarlene]

ariesfire, that is awful when you can't get an answer to your questions. I went with a one man firm, who is supposed to be according to another lawyer, the best in the area. I'm now about 1/2 way through my chapter 13, but I have only had a few questions after my 341. It also looked like according to the signed "agreement" I have with my attorney, that I'm only covered up until Confirmation. However, I've had a couple of questions answered, and do seem to get a quick response by e-mail.

Congratulations on completing your 13.

[ariesfire]

Money is always an issue but when your head is pushed under water money becomes all encompassing. When you have creditors calling, filing law suits, and generally making your life a living hell it may be time to hire a mouthpiece aka an attorney. My experience has taught me that an individual attorney with no staff can be problematic. Recently I received a letter from the trustee informing my wife and I our chapter 13 is coming to an end. The letter advised us to call our attorney asap. Since I am not a legal expert I had many questions as to what if anything we need to do for a smooth discharge. Keep in mind an attorney can charge the trustee for payment if additional legal cost beyond the filing are incurred. That said I called our attorney who actively dodged my calls and would not return any communication. However he is still attorney of record to this day. I was not happy and was feeling very anxious so I had to get advice from another bk attorney. I will not bore you with the details except to say five minutes of my attorneys time was not to much to ask and would have soothed my soul. For those thinking of filing chapter 13 my suggestion is to hire a firm with a staff with a boss you can complain to if your attorney is not responsive. Individual attorneys can get so busy they do not have time for you. Just for the record I did not call him very often, less then twice a year.

It will be 40 days till the end of our Chapter 13 Feb. 5 2013 to be precise. Yes chapter 13 can be tough, but it took care of past taxes, cc's, and saved my house (however it lost half its value since we filed and are now underwater with the mortgage.) Keep in mind, piece of mind is a wonderful thing, yes it can get tight money wise but it is better then the fear debt can create. When you file do not let the stigma stop you,
Corporations have no problem with it and do it on a regular bases. Do not hire the lone attorney unless you know him well, make sure he has someone to answer to.