Dismissal of Ch. 13 what do I owe the attorney

[dragginfly]

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, couldn’t find it.
If my Ch. 13 is dismissed, which it will be, what will I owe my attorney? His payments ($3000) were included in the plan. There was only one plan payment made prior to the dismissal. In fact the plan never made it to a confirmed status. (We decided to let the house go, and it’s the only reason we filed a Ch. 13) If I do owe the attorney, how will this attorney go about getting his money.
The same attorney encouraged us to file a new Ch. 7, or convert from 13 to 7-he was confusing about this. My attorney told me that it would cost us $1500 to do the Ch. 7, but it’s not “the 3000 like in the Ch. 13 case”. I understand the benefits of filing a Ch. 7. But there is a good chance we will be waiting to file the Ch. 7. We will loose the house within a few months and will have to have money to move, we will need money to catch up on what is past due on our vehicle, and can’t afford to pay the attorney the fees for filing a Ch. 7 all within the next few months. Also, I will most likely owe the mortgage company the difference between what the house sells for vs. what is owed and want to roll that into the Ch. 7. (something the attorney said I shouldn't wait for when I asked him if I should wait) OK secretly, I think my attorney hates me, he's been very demeaning towards me when hubby is not around. But anyway...
So what happens if we don’t file a Ch. 7 anytime soon. Or choose to go with a different attorney (I currently despise mine). Is the attorney going to be coming after us for his Ch. 13 fees-I squirm about how horrible he could be, I fear getting sued by him and etc. BTW all of my other creditors could care less I’m only worried about the attorney.

Thanks

[catleg]

He could possibly sue you, but I suspect for a bankruptcy attorney to do so is kind of a waste of time 99% of the time as you'll just turn around and chapter 7 his ass.

[lrprn]

In truth your current Ch 13 attorney met the terms of the agreement you made when you retained him/her so according to the law needs to be paid for the services provided. That means that you do owe whatever is left of the $3K minus what's been paid through your plan so far.

Now whether your lawyer will try to get the remaining money owed from you by suing....that's impossible to predict. As CatLeg notes, if you qualify you could file Ch 7to get the debt discharged, but that's quite an elephant gun to fire off if you don't have considerable other debt to strip off besides just what you owe the lawyer.

[dragginfly]

OH I've got other debt that needs to be taken care of, I'm just not worried about it, so far I've had this debt for 4-5 years and I am generally left alone about it. So, attorney is my only "worry". Not that I really wish to get out of paying him, I just won't be able to for a couple of months from now.

[Flamingo]

The retention letter/contract you and your husband signed to retain your lawyer to file bankruptcy for you will state all you need to know in the event your Bk is dismissed. You were given a copy of that letter at the time you both signed it. When a Chapter 13 Plan is dismissed, your status reverts right back to where you were when you filed, minus any payments made to any creditor in the plan, plus interest and penalties by the creditors will again accrue so basically you are right back where you started. You will owe your attorney whatever is stated in your contract/retention letter.

[SMinGA2]

Similar situation, we filed ch. 13 and later dismissed before confirmation. We made 3 months of payments. Most of the money we paid went to 'adequate protection payments' on vehicles. After our dismissal, from funds paid in prior to our dismissal, a little $ went to the attorney. We did later receive a small bill from the attorney, not for the full amount that was intended to be paid in the 13. Did not respond to it, and have not heard anything else from him. When we get around to refiling I do intend to list him as a creditor.

Note: part of the reason we dismissed was because of our attorney. After the fact, I realized he knew next to nothing about 13's. Such as in the budget I submitted to the attorney, I included ~$X as a payment on my student loans. I didn't know that I would not make these payments after filing (and that SLs would get paid like other unsecured debts in the plan) apparently he didn't either. That was in the plan he submitted.

[MSbklawyer]

The issue of how much you owe will be governed by your contract with your lawyer. That being said, a big part of the reason Chapter 13 fees are so high as compared to Chapter 7 ($3000 vs. $1300 in my neck of the woods) is because of the risk that the attorney is not going to be paid in full on some cases.

[dragginfly]

Thank you all
This explains why when I asked the attorney how much I would owe him if I didn't file Ch. 7 and just dropped the Ch. 13, I was immediately told something about filing Ch. 7 with them and never given a number. They probably didn't want me to know and possibly loose out on that money. Also, I think I have some sort of unreasonable fear of this attorney, he just has this way of making me feel like an abused puppy. Uggh.

[HHM]

I think you should be focusing on the bigger picture, (and you probably are), but you must have filed BK for a reason. The goal is to get a "discharge," if you can do a 7, then do the 7. But don't just dismiss and walk away from BK (unless you one the lottery or received a large inheritance). You have already done the damage to your credit with the 13, might as well see it through to discharge.

[SMinGA2]

For the house - you will not owe the deficiency balance if you file ch. 7 and don't reaffirm. It doesn't matter when you file the ch. 7, as long as you don't reaffirm.

My honest opinion - if you have qualms about your attorney then find a new one. List the prior attorney as a creditor if/when you refile.

Were there any motions filed in your ch. 13 to life the stay? If so, you cannot file a 7 until 6 months after your 13 has been dismissed. If no such motion was filed - then there is no time restriction. (Assuming you haven't had a ch. 7 in the 8 years.) It may be a few weeks before the mortgage company even realizes you're out of the ch. 13 protection and puts the account back to normal collection activity. If your plan is ultimately to let the house go, that process takes time. You could have months or much longer, depending on the foreclosure process in your state. You indicate you're past due on a vehicle though, and that is another matter if you want to keep the car. Get it caught up as soon as possible to avoid a reposession.

Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere, couldn’t find it.
...
So what happens if we don’t file a Ch. 7 anytime soon. Or choose to go with a different attorney (I currently despise mine). Is the attorney going to be coming after us for his Ch. 13 fees-I squirm about how horrible he could be, I fear getting sued by him and etc. BTW all of my other creditors could care less I’m only worried about the attorney.

Thanks