Chapter 7 Creditor Objection

[AngelinaCat]

[lrprn]

Welcome to BK Forum - glad you found us! I moved your question here into its own thread so that it will get better attention and more answers.

Your lawyer is telling you that the objection this person has filed against you has little merit and you can object in return naming those areas that are not pertinent to the debt he is atttempting to stop from being discharged.

It's typical for extra legal work besides the normal Ch 7 work to cost extra. Since you aren't paying your credit cards and other unsecured loans, it's worrisome that you don't have any extra money to pay your lawyer to defend you in court and finally rid yourself of this problem.

How much does your lawyer think it would cost? Can you get a "gift" from your family or friends that you can pay back after your case is closed?

[AngelinaCat]

Hello lrprn:

Thank you for the welcome. At this time, we have no more financial resources we can call on. We must go 'pro se'. The family has been maxed out. Plus, our BK attorney is (I’m trying very hard to be charitable) has no bedside manner. When we attempt a conversation in order to get ourselves educated, we get a lot of angry flak. The only thing I can figure is that she thinks we must know these things beforehand, yet we do not. When we ask questions, we get flame mail or screamed at in person.

We have a two week old message into her office—return receipt received—asking her to prepare the response, and no reply. We can only assume that she is not going to take this new action.

We asked our main lawyer, pertaining the fallow lawsuit, his opinion—he does not practice BK—after a limited search of BK law—generated us a bill of $450.00. We can’t pay it.

Thanks

[AngelinaCat]

Hello lrprn:

Our BK Attorney wants $172.00 per hour plus travel time to Jacksonville, FL from Gainesville, FL. She says this will require at least two hearings. She advised hiring an attorney in Jacksonville, though she could not advise what Jax attorneys charge. That is when we talked to our 'main attorney' who does not practice BK law to get his opinions.

She has not yet responded to our requests to simply make the document of Response. She wants her fees up front. This is how we hired her in the first place two years ago, when we HAD money to put up front.

We can no longer do this. She knows that my husband gets his Social Security check on the 4th Wednesday of each month and can pay only a very small stipend. He is 64 years old and a cancer survivor. I am on Unemployment Compensation, having lost my full-time job October 1, 2007. I have a small part-time job. I have an application pending for a full-time job. No guarantees. We cannot pay anything extra. We are having trouble meeting our auto insurance and power bill requirements -- not to mention food, auto fuel--$3.45 per gallon today!?! etc.

The question is this:

We are attempting to respond ourselves to the Adversary complaint. Do we respond in kind to the ‘exact allegations, or do we respond to ‘form’ in that ‘this is irrelevant’ because these allegations have not been taken to court and a verdict rendered?

Thanks

[lrprn]

If you can't afford to pay your current lawyer or a Jacksonville attorney to file this motion for you, then you can't.

Do you have a Legal Aid office in your area? The lawyers there could be very helpful sorting this out for you and will only charge what you can afford.

Another option - is there an experienced bankruptcy paralegal in your attorney's office or in Jacksonville who would charge much less just to give you the correct form and help you file the motion?

[AngelinaCat]

We were given the name of a local attorney--we live in East Palatka, FL--to approach. His office offered April 21 as the earliest we could get an appointment, and no guarantees of a 'free consultation'. Our deadline is May 5, 2008. I *think* we have a legal aid office in Palatka, but am not sure. I will check tomorrow.

However, if any of these charge fees are based on household income—I tried getting food stamps because I had a problem for a while with the Unemployment Compensation—and was told that even without the UC compensation, our Household made too much money.

I want and need to take a paralegal course for self-defense--but then again fees and costs. We are really at the bottom of the barrel in all of this. I would love to say that we can see the proverbial 'Light at the End of the Tunnel'. I cannot. I can only see the oily black pit right now.

I just want to thank the Good Lord, that we were led to this site. Through all of you here posting, we are starting to see that we, and our experiences, are not unusual, and that others have had /are having similar experiences, and that all has /is turning out well. Thank you for the support.

[lrprn]

I just want to thank the Good Lord, that we were led to this site. Through all of you here posting, we are starting to see that we, and our experiences, are not unusual, and that others have had /are having similar experiences, and that all has /is turning out well. Thank you for the support.

We're glad you found us too, AngelinaCat! Keep us posted on what happens with lawyer #2 and Legal Aid. Come back for moral support any time you need it - that's a primary reason we're here.