Hi,
I am posting these remarks for anyone who still hasn't hired a lawyer to represent them. I think I almost made a really big mistake and hope to help others avoid the same.
I hired a lawyer I found in the yellow pages in January, paid his entire fee ($1,200) and then started having serious misgivings. During our initial consultation, he was personable and charming and appeared competent. So I hired him. During our second (and last) appointment, he spent very little time with me, rushed through everything, asked me to "ball park" many things such as my business income and expenses (!), and was unable to answer several of the questions I asked him. Also, he really scared me when he said that my accounts receivable (over 25k at the time) would likely be seized when they came in. Lastly, even though all 3 of my kids live with me (2 in college and 1 just out), he said I couldn't include any of them in my household for the simple reason that they are all over 18 years of age.
I posted my concerns here, on this forum, and learned that he should have asked me to provide much more documentation, was likely wrong about my household size (which could totally change the outcome for me: household of 1 or household of 4), and probably didn't know enough about bks involving small business to represent me.
I then consulted with 7 or 8 more attorneys on the phone before I went in to meet the one who impressed me the most. I met with this attorney today, and the difference between him and attorney #1 was like night and day.
This person has been practicing bk law for over 20 years and is board certified in consumer bankruptcy law. He has been published in scholarly legal journals and has held a number of leadership positions the field. And, he has personally represented a number of lawyers who filed bk. He has extensive small business bk experience and could answer every single question I asked at length.
He required me to provide a LOT of documentation and even needed a statement from my accountant. He said I could include all three of my kids in my household size and said he has ample examples of case law to back this decision up. I asked if the trustee might challenge this and he said, "They could try, but they'd lose." He said he has never lost a challenge regarding household size.
Amazingly, he said my accounts receivable (currently about $9,000) would likely be safe--worst case scenario--I would give between $2-3K to the trustee.
I will file after the first of June. He said he sees no red flags and doesn't believe I have any cause for concern.
I followed all of the advice I received here: I educated myself first, consulted with a number of attorneys, disclosed everything, and even prepared myself (mentally) for a Ch 13. However, I learned that my business expenses, tax rate, and 3 kids help me qualify for Ch 7.
I believe that if I had hired Attorney #1 I could have been in for a really bumpy ride and might even have had he kind of nightmarish experience several people on this forum have had. Thank God I ate the $$ wasted on #1 and decided to go with someone I have more confidence (and his fees were even higher).
This process is stressful enough without having to add a lousy lawyer on top of everything. Thank God for good, competent, experienced lawyers. I was with him for over an hour and never felt he was rushing me or brushing my questions off. I think the time I spent consulting with lawyers was exceedingly well spent.
To anyone who hasn't hired a lawyer yet, I would say get the very best counsel you can afford and keep looking til you find someone who will help you sleep at night.
Looking forward a brighter future,
Kathy
I am posting these remarks for anyone who still hasn't hired a lawyer to represent them. I think I almost made a really big mistake and hope to help others avoid the same.
I hired a lawyer I found in the yellow pages in January, paid his entire fee ($1,200) and then started having serious misgivings. During our initial consultation, he was personable and charming and appeared competent. So I hired him. During our second (and last) appointment, he spent very little time with me, rushed through everything, asked me to "ball park" many things such as my business income and expenses (!), and was unable to answer several of the questions I asked him. Also, he really scared me when he said that my accounts receivable (over 25k at the time) would likely be seized when they came in. Lastly, even though all 3 of my kids live with me (2 in college and 1 just out), he said I couldn't include any of them in my household for the simple reason that they are all over 18 years of age.
I posted my concerns here, on this forum, and learned that he should have asked me to provide much more documentation, was likely wrong about my household size (which could totally change the outcome for me: household of 1 or household of 4), and probably didn't know enough about bks involving small business to represent me.
I then consulted with 7 or 8 more attorneys on the phone before I went in to meet the one who impressed me the most. I met with this attorney today, and the difference between him and attorney #1 was like night and day.
This person has been practicing bk law for over 20 years and is board certified in consumer bankruptcy law. He has been published in scholarly legal journals and has held a number of leadership positions the field. And, he has personally represented a number of lawyers who filed bk. He has extensive small business bk experience and could answer every single question I asked at length.
He required me to provide a LOT of documentation and even needed a statement from my accountant. He said I could include all three of my kids in my household size and said he has ample examples of case law to back this decision up. I asked if the trustee might challenge this and he said, "They could try, but they'd lose." He said he has never lost a challenge regarding household size.
Amazingly, he said my accounts receivable (currently about $9,000) would likely be safe--worst case scenario--I would give between $2-3K to the trustee.
I will file after the first of June. He said he sees no red flags and doesn't believe I have any cause for concern.
I followed all of the advice I received here: I educated myself first, consulted with a number of attorneys, disclosed everything, and even prepared myself (mentally) for a Ch 13. However, I learned that my business expenses, tax rate, and 3 kids help me qualify for Ch 7.
I believe that if I had hired Attorney #1 I could have been in for a really bumpy ride and might even have had he kind of nightmarish experience several people on this forum have had. Thank God I ate the $$ wasted on #1 and decided to go with someone I have more confidence (and his fees were even higher).
This process is stressful enough without having to add a lousy lawyer on top of everything. Thank God for good, competent, experienced lawyers. I was with him for over an hour and never felt he was rushing me or brushing my questions off. I think the time I spent consulting with lawyers was exceedingly well spent.
To anyone who hasn't hired a lawyer yet, I would say get the very best counsel you can afford and keep looking til you find someone who will help you sleep at night.
Looking forward a brighter future,
Kathy
It is so good to read positive news! We also rushed into retaining an attorney (actually a group of BK attornies). They had a lot of information on the web. Our initial and only consultation was in Dec. She was very sharp with us, but my husband and I were just plain scared, so we paid a deposit and continued monthly payments to bk group until we paid off the $1800 fee. Attorney advised us to stop making cc payments to have enough money to pay her. I had one phone call when she was preparing the paperwork a couple of weeks ago and it really was disturbing. After posting a question on this forum and advised to obtain a 2nd opinion, I called the bk group back and spoke to a different attorney who will now be handling our filing. We are still a nervous wreck as we have 21 year old twins in college (they taken out private loans which we co-signed for) and we are hoping they will still be able to obtain loans without or co-sign now that we are about to file. We certainly never anticipated going through something like this when we married 25 years ago, but you just never know what life will hand you.
Comment