How did you pay your attorney?

[ejny65]

Hi:
I am preparing to file BK, have not retained atty yet. now my question is that are you allowed to have $1500 saved in your account to pay attorney? Won't trustee say that if you had money in your account why did not pay minimum to some creditors?

[Bandit]

If someone has 1500 saved, it is probably not 'saved' like a savings account but there to spend on bills. It is probably their LAST 1500 as well & that is when you get your attorney or better if you get the attorney before that happens. You don't have to pay the attorney all at once because most of them take a downpayment & then maybe two installments.

I just don't see the point of using someones last 1500.00 on bills to be discharged when you already know you will be filing & have to rack up another attorney bill. I think most trustees know that you don't get to pick a BK attorney for 'FREE'

I suppose if you really have to go back & look at it, most people end up borrowing in some way just to get an attorney or maybe some money is given as a gift. I am sure that some do use their last bit of savings account money though, to get an attorney.

I have over 1,000 coming back from taxes & that is going to be used to pay my attorney NOT pay credit card & medical bills just because some trustee thinks I should pay bills- aint going to happen. If I could do that this year, then I would have no need to hire an attorney & file a BK in the first place.

[TomBrady]

I was trying to save for an attorney for the last 6 mo. I had racked up about 700 of the required 1200 before a garnishment hit me. Thank god I had that 900 it was just enough to pay a document preparation firm, buy a how to do file ch7 book, pay for the counseling and have just enough to weather the storm between now and the next paycheck. Unfortunately now I am on the pro se (not by choice) however I spent a long time with the very nice court clerk who helped me immensely with my paperwork said that unless you have mortgages with liens she believes that it is best to do it pro se. I guess we will see... Had much good luck today though. I wish you the same on your first day.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Ejny, just so you know, atty fees are considered a necessary expense by the court. Not hard to understand when you consider that 98% of the people you deal with in a bk court, including the trustees and judges, are attorneys.

That, and when you file with an atty they actually have to file a disclosure with your bk that says what you paid them, so that the court can go after them (not you!) if it's excessive. You're quite safe spending the $$$ on atty fees. Good luck!!!

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

The odd thing is the Trustee never ask how you paid your attorney and never ask where the money came from to pay the attorney. I had a stroke of luck and won $2000 dollars. The cool thing was, I owed my attorney $3000 but since I filed for Ch13, $1000 was to be paid through the chapter (so I only had to give him $2000).

When I converted to Ch7, I didn't owe the $1000 anymore.

Best of Luck to you! Catchmeifyoucan

I'd like to see the Trustee ask for that tax return from the attorney if that is what some people plan on doing with their tax money when they file!

[aachudneymiles]

Hi:
I am preparing to file BK, have not retained atty yet. now my question is that are you allowed to have $1500 saved in your account to pay attorney? Won't trustee say that if you had money in your account why did not pay minimum to some creditors?

I am pro se so I didnt pay but i would say use your tax return..Thats if you have one coming.

[piedpiper]

Sold my first born on eBay

[One Half Full]

I'm going a combo of income tax refund, and not paying the house or car. I also have a refund from college tuition that I never cashed. (have to wait to get a new check though). I dont make enough money to get a decent amount from a tax refund.

[danaf]

When I file, I will be using a paralegal that comes highly recommended. So my cost will be about 500 plus the courses we have to take. The way I see it, paralegals are the ones doing this work even if you hire an attorney. I am not willing to pay an attorney 1500 to come with me to a 341 mtg.

[jenski]

i haven't paid him yet, but when we choose one, we are using our tax refund.

then we'll have to save for the filing fee.

[Lindsay]

I'm using our tax refund to pay off the remaining $700 of our BK. I asked our lawyer about the money spent on legal fees and he said the trustees don't care about that; they are lawyers too!

[Cassiopeia]

I borrowed money from my son to pay my atty.

[butterflywings]

I was trying to save for an attorney for the last 6 mo. I had racked up about 700 of the required 1200 before a garnishment hit me. Thank god I had that 900 it was just enough to pay a document preparation firm, buy a how to do file ch7 book, pay for the counseling and have just enough to weather the storm between now and the next paycheck. Unfortunately now I am on the pro se (not by choice) however I spent a long time with the very nice court clerk who helped me immensely with my paperwork said that unless you have mortgages with liens she believes that it is best to do it pro se. I guess we will see... Had much good luck today though. I wish you the same on your first day.

With all due respect I just don't believe Bankruptcy Court clerk would risk her job to say that. She may have said if you don't have a lien it is probably okay to go pro se, but never in a million years would she tell people it is BEST to go pro se.

If you are going to file pro se do so with your eyes wide open about the seriousness of it and the risks associated with it. It is not BEST. Going without legal representation into Federal Court is NEVER "best", it may be necessary for you, and best in terms of if it's a choice between filing and not filing, but going pro se is a serious risk and it deserves to be acknowledged.

I could have gone pro se myself. I have no liens, judgements, collections, foreclosures, back taxes you name it, just credit cards that have been paid on time up to this month that I can't pay anymore. I'm judgment proof too, well as much as anyone can be, but the $800 I'm paying my lawyer is for his expertise, his judgment and his protection and his ability to work with the trustee and creditors on my behalf if it was ever necessary to do so. My guess is trustees and creditors take lawyers more seriously than someone filing pro se. Just from reading the accounts here and over on other boards over the months of people who have gone pro se and how the trustees were treating them shows me that much, but it can definitely be done and very successfully too. There are many people on here who should be very proud, but even so pro se is not for the faint of heart. lol

[Cali]

I haven't filed yet. We are in the waiting 90 days to 6 mths phase, so we are saving the money up.

[One Half Full]

Going without legal representation into Federal Court is NEVER "best", it may be necessary for you, and best in terms of if it's a choice between filing and not filing, but going pro se is a serious risk and it deserves to be acknowledged.

I totally agree. These people know the law and are professionals. This might not look like a trial, but it is a trial, and the effects of messing it up could be very harmful in the long run.

I would never walk into a court house without an attorney (except perhaps a minor traffic ticket).