Attorney's office not responding to me regarding my tax returns...

[nsupanda]

My attorney's paralegal advised me to NOT file my taxes until they had a chance to review my tax returns first. So I e-mailed her our un-filed returns for them to look at over on January 23, 2012. Today is February 9th. I have yet to hear from them.

I e-mailed twice after I sent them, just making sure she got them. No reply. I have called the office, nobody answers, so I leave a voicemail... no return phone call.

I know it's only been two weeks, but all they're doing is REVIEWING the returns before I file them. And since we have VERY easy taxes (no kooky stuff to claim), I don't see the problem. If they are backlogged, I understand, but a simple acknowledgement that they received them would be nice.

My husband and I would really like to file our returns so that we can get our refund ASAP (hoping the Trustee will let us keep it).

My attorney's office is over an hour away from where I live so going there is a bit of a hassle for me... what would you do???

[Ifonly]

um, and what exactly is your attorney going to "review"? I can understand them wanting a copy to perhaps be prepared for any issues with the Trustee; but a proactive review before filing? Are they going to suggest that you "change" your income or drop a zero here and there? As a tax preparer, I find this really weird. You earned what you earned and you pay what you pay - if they want to suggest deductions or credits, that's not really their gig. I don't get it. Hope they're not billing you ~ in fact, I'm not sure if that would be ethical. In certain states, CPA's can't "practice" law and vice versa.

[nsupanda]

That's what I thought too... my taxes are really very simple anyway... Simple enough for me to do them on my own every year. It's just my husband and I, and our daughter... I do not itemize. No weird credits or deductions out of the ordinary... this has been our first year in Bankruptcy so I was wondering if there's a special credit or something that people with Bankruptcy get to claim that I was unaware of (doubtful I'm sure). But I really don't understand why they want to review it.

My attorney told us last year to change our W-4's so that they would be taking out less, so that we'd have more monthly income instead of getting a big refund every year. I think that was a good idea, and I agree with it, but we just never did it so we're expecting $4000. We pay in 100% to our bankruptcy so I'm hoping the Trustee lets us keep it. I also received a letter from the Trustee instructing me to submit my filed returns ASAP to his office. I called my attorney's office and they told me to send it to THEM instead and that THEY will file it with the Trustee's office. Now, they won't even let me know if they've received the copies of the UNFILED returns! I'm fixing to just bypass my attorney's office altogether if they keep giving me the runaround. Good idea, bad idea? I'm so sick of my attorney anyway, will never recommend him to anyone.

[lrprn]

Sigh....so sorry to hear about the unnecessary frustration over something that should be very simple and straightforward.

I wonder why no one is answering the phone in the law office or returning calls or emails for two weeks - that's strange and troubling .

Our lawyer also wanted to send the copies of our tax forms to our trustee every year, but in five years we never had an issue with it. We filed first, dropped the copies off in our lawyer's office, and within a week they sent them over to our trustee's office. There was never any reviewing needed ahead of time before we filed either.

Hang in there. The next message you leave the law office, state clearly and unemotionally that you've left multiple phone messages and emails over the last two weeks about your tax forms with no return calls or emails. Then state if you don't hear back from someone in the office in the next two business days, you will assume your taxes are fine and you will be filing them and sending a copy to the trustee yourself. If that doesn't get them moving, then so be it.

And if your trustee allows it after filing, PLEASE change your withholdings so you don't get such a large tax refund next year! Given the $4K amount of the return this year, your trustee might just decide to take it. Since your plan is 100% payback, it will get you out a bit faster at the end, but I'm betting you'd rather use the extra money for your emergency fund instead.

[nsupanda]

Thank you so much for the reply, I will call them and leave that message today (or even send a certified letter, what do you think about that?).

I would definitely rather keep the $4000 because we need to re-floor our house, or most of it anyway. I think if the Trustee decides to keep it, I will ask that he not and give the reason for it.

I am also really afraid to change our withholdings because I'm afraid they will not take enough out and that we will owe next year, and that's not something I can do whether the Trustee looks down on it or not. I'd never be able to come up with the money to owe anything.

[lrprn]

@nsu - You can test out changing your withholdings here at the online IRS Withholdings Calculator before actually making any changes to ensure you don't over-correct - http://www.irs.gov/individuals/artic...=96196,00.html

If you really want to ensure you have just a little positive coming back each calendar year from the IRS, keep checking your possible refund amount each quarter throughout the year using this calculator each time. If it looks like you are going negative and might owe, change your withholdings again.

Good luck!

[HHM]

All they want to know is the amount of your tax refund, if any; and if there is a tax refund, to look at why you are getting one (e.g. child tax credit etc.).

Hopefully there will be some final review meeting before you file, so the lack of contact is probably not a problem.