341 attorney fee

[jarkshark]

my attorney just sent me a bill for $250 to attend the 341 meeting. I thought it was included. I can not call him because it is Saturday and they are closed. Also he has sent me a bill for $50 for every phone call i made to him regarding getting papers together. That totals $450. I paid him $1200 to file and the $299 filing fee for a total of $1499. Is the fact that he charged me $50 a call and charged me for him to attend the 341 out of line? I feel like I have been taken advantage of. Should have known.
Thanks for any help.

[BobMango]

You need to review your agreement with your attorney. All of this should have been spelled out in that document. Having said that, it seems a little odd to me since I think most bk attorneys generally cover preparing the filing, doing the filing and attending the 341 for the base fee. Reaffirmations and adversary proceedings, etc are usually extra, but an attorney charging you for calling when you're getting your documentation in order seems a bit, um, aggressive.

Other than that, I wouldn't pay to have the attorney there, I'd just tell the trustee that the attorney wanted an extra fee and you didn't have it. My attorney sent a junior associate who contributed absolutely nothing to the proceedings. Oh wait a minute, he did take my ID and SS card and hand them to the trustee, but apparently the trustee judged us competent and handed them back to us directly.

[Fresh]

It doesn't sound like you even had an agreement. That's not good at all. You need to ask your attorney going forward from this point what the costs for everything are. What you said about the phone calls disturbs me the most. Were you calling to check on your case or to find out whether he/she had received your documentation or what?

There are some attorneys who basically include everything in the agreement and then provide disclosure of everything else in that agreement, whether it's done on an hourly basis or per-service fee with the amounts.

~Fresh~

[skweakalee]

in my state it's unethical for an attorney to charge without an agreement in writing stating the fees (unless there have been past transactions of the same nature, in which case the fee should remain the same).

$1500 is average for a chapter 7 though. but $50/phone call is ridiculous.

regarding the $50 phone calls: attorneys have a duty to keep clients informed about their case, which is kind of at odds with charging $50 per call.

the easiest way to resolve all this: what does your agreement for legal services say?

[eastbaybk]

Yikes! Not only check that agreement but check the Petition because there is a disclosure form that attorneys need to fill out that specify how much was charged and what is/isn't covered. Generally, a flat fee covers the drafting of the Petition, filing, representation at 341 and misc. work related to your Petition. Also, sometimes your local county bar has a fee dispute resolution services that may be available if you disagree with what your attorney has done.