Ugent...Help Need Please...Notice of Motion and Hearing

[brtb]

In the mail today I received a "Notice of Motion and Hearing" from the bk court. Our atty has "filed papers with the Court seeking the approval of a Fee Application". I don't why he's doing thing and honestly I don't understand. I already paid him $3000 when we filed and now he's asking for an add'l $2300 for every email, phone, etc.

I'm wondering if this has anything to do with our pending divorce. We were supposed to meet him together last Mon, but my husband got an attitude and didn't want to meet with him so we had to cancel. Does this also mean he's withdrawing as our bk atty?

My luck couldn't get any worse. I've emai edour bk atty asking for further explanation. Waiting to hear back. Until then if anyone has any insight I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

[LadyInTheRed]

If your attorney did work other than what was covered by the original $3,000, he is entiteld to be paid for his services. Check your fee agreement. I bet that was not a flat fee. The fee agreement probably says you will pay him by the hour. Attorneys bill for every email, phone call, etc. Those things are all part of the work they do for their clients and they don't do it for free. If your divorce resulted in him spending time talking to you and your husband, that could be what his fees are for. Ask him to send you a copy of his fee application so you can see what the fees cover.

He is required to get court approval to make sure his fees are reasonable. Unless you were paying 0% to unsecured creditors, those fees will probably be paid out of your plan and will reduce what goes to the unsecured creditors. If that will not be the case for you, and you think his fees are unreasonable, you can object to them.

The fact that he is filing a fee application does not mean he is going to withdrawal. But, if your husband is not cooperating on issues related to your BK, it would make sense that the attorney would have to withdrawal and have you both retain your own attorneys. Their could be a conflict of interest if he continues to represent either one of you but not the other. Hopefully, if your BK attorney cannot continue to represent you, he can refer you to somebody who will.

[brtb]

The period he is collecting for is from May 2011-Sept 2013. The divorce stuff didn't come up until last week. I just retained a divorce atty this week and my husband still doesn't have one. So we really haven't gotten to the nitty gritty yet. I do know that he will probably have to eventually withdraw since I want to be in my own plan, but this just caught me off guard.

Thank you so much for always responding to my posts.

[dmc-2008]

The period he is collecting for is from May 2011-Sept 2013. The divorce stuff didn't come up until last week. I just retained a divorce atty this week and my husband still doesn't have one. So we really haven't gotten to the nitty gritty yet. I do know that he will probably have to eventually withdraw since I want to be in my own plan, but this just caught me off guard.

Thank you so much for always responding to my posts.

Mine made a fortune on me and it is part of the 13. As long as he is happy and does a good job, more power to him.

They do make good money on these things!

[despritfreya]

Either

1.Your attny is paid on an hourly basis. He MUST file an Application for Payment and get his fees approved or he is not entitled to a dime. Assuming the fee agreement is at an hourly rate you should have been receiving monthly billing statements.

OR

2. He charges a flat fee but adds to that fee for work outside of the "ordinary course" and has now exceeded the "no look" limit set by your district. If so, then he must justify ALL of his fees. If the fee agreement is at a fixed rate it should detail what that fee covers and what additional charges would apply.

In either case, ask your attny for a copy of the Fee Application (he should have sent it to you - not just the Notice)

My Firm charges hourly and I can kick out one of those fee apps in my sleep - standard operating procedure.

As to withdrawing, while the fee app has little if anything to do with the domestic situation, you are correct. Your attny cannot represent either one of you if you both do not agree on what to do with the bk.

Des.

[brtb]

I just looked through all of the original bk paperwork I have and there is nothing that states that we would have to pay extra fees. All it says is that his fee for Ch 13 is $3000, which I paid upfront. I'm more confused than ever.

In the Notice there is a fee schedule attached with all of his staff's billing rates and hours spend reading emails and taking calls.

Do I just let it go? I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

Thanks.

[despritfreya]

Do I just let it go? I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.

Chances are you are not "being taken advantage of" but, you, as the client, have a right not to be "confused". So, you do not "just let it go". On Monday, if you can't talk to someone, you set an appointment to discuss the fee application. Probably, once you discuss it and find out how the extra money 1) was earned and 2) is going to be paid, you will be fine with it.

Des.

[brtb]

Thanks. So, our bk atty emailed back saying "I'm not trying to charge YOU! The trustee made us fight to keep from a big jump in your payment to him--and I'm trying to get paid for that out of HIS MONEY."

This is what I hate because the "Notice" says nothing about getting money from the trustee it has our names. Then he responds back like this. I can't wait to get out of this mess. The list of incurred fees was included with the Notice, so I did look it over. It just caught me off guard.