Client Intake Forms 30 pages This Normal?

[Protected]

I had a two good consultations with some lawyers here in town regarding my case. Both were about 30 minutes, and indicated that if I hired them I would need to provide them copies of tax returns, pay stubs, etc.

One of the attorneys gave me his client intake packet, and told me that I would need to fill it out. The Packet is 30 PAGES long full of questions.

I tought if I hired a lawyer that they would take care of all of that paperwork. Is this normal for there to be so many pages of intake forms?
I would appreciate some feedback form others.

Thank you very much.

[tobee43]

actually, i believe our attorney's office's forms ran approx. 50 pages!! i thought...what am i paying these people for?

since everything is electronic nowadays, it appears after you fill out the information, they input it so they can electronically file. otherwise, they have to sit with you for hours and hours to get the information.

what i did was filled out all the info....scanned in my tax forms etc., and then emailed everything in a pdf file. it made it much easier.

it sounds to me you just have a lawyer office this is more up today's standards for filing.

[BobWang]

Soooooo you think that just handing over your paystubs and tax returns is the only thing you need to do ??? How is the attorney going to get the other information required ?? ESP or a Vulcan mindmeld ????

[tobee43]

bob...let's NOT forget the bank statements, 401's savings accounts...etc &...the 400 questions pertaining to everything you have done in the past 24 months!!

i like the Vulcan mindmeld!!

[ccsjoe]

Actually yes, 30+ pages for intake is about right. Questionnaires, tax returns, pay stubs, etc, etc. What you pay for is for them to place the right numbers in the right boxes, perform the appropriate calculations, and advise you regarding your chances of taking the action you desire. But the real thing you pay them for is insurance. Insurance that everything is filled out appropriately and that if the trustee decides to question something, they have your back.

[researchnerd]

Yep, that sounds about right. There were a zillion questions on there; I kept thinking I was going to turn the page and find a request for my dogs' names and pawprints.

Like tobee43, we scanned ours and emailed it to the attorney, and then they did the data entry from there.

[wonderingrov]

The intake form for mine was about 32 pages. This included questions on my debts, assets, any other suits/cases I had been involved with, where I had lived for the past 10 years, and so forth. The lawyers have to have this information so they can see your entire financial picture and advise you accurately. Also, with the questionairre mine had me fill out, they were looking to see if there would be conflicts of interests with them representing me (i.e. - if I was involved with lawsuits with another one of their clients, etc).

Keep in mind, if they are going to advise you and represent you in a bankruptcy case, they have to make sure they have all the bases covered so they can advise you correctly and protect you from doing anything that could be considered fraudulent. That is part of the reason you are paying them - as protection for yourself in areas of the law you may not be that familiar with. With the complexity of bankruptcy laws, it is possible to commit fraud without even realizing you have done it.

[tay666]

Actually yes, 30+ pages for intake is about right. Questionnaires, tax returns, pay stubs, etc, etc. What you pay for is for them to place the right numbers in the right boxes, perform the appropriate calculations, and advise you regarding your chances of taking the action you desire. But the real thing you pay them for is insurance. Insurance that everything is filled out appropriately and that if the trustee decides to question something, they have your back.

Exactly!

I think mine started somewhere around 30 pages.
Which went way up when I had to copy the page to list creditors.
Think I had to make 12-14 copies of that (front and back)

Took me about a month to fill it all out, and I already had all my records gathered and organized.

[sophia]

Mine was about 50 pages and by the time I turned it in I had added about another 50 pages not to mention the stack of pay stubs, CC statements, bank account info and a bunch more stuff asked for. I think the filling out of the papers, the organizing of all the required documents and then going over them with them before filing is actually the most stressful part of BK.

[HHM]

The attorney has to get information from you somehow. They are not clairvoyant.

Most attorney's use a questionnaire of some kind. Some will offer to pull information from various databases (at additional cost); but bottom line, your attorney needs the "details" (and I mean details" of your financial circumstances to handle your case appropriately.)

[IBroke]

Which went way up when I had to copy the page to list creditors.

I don't have to list any creditors - that is a relief!

I was told they take that info from the credit report. I guess since my case will be a no asset CH7, it doesn't matter if they leave some creditors out...

I also have to provide pay-stubs and tax-returns (OK, not me because I didn't file any because I had no income over the last 3 years) and the certificate for the pre-filing counseling. The questionnaire, however, is only 8 pages.

[tobee43]

ibroke.....please be very careful about that.

when my attorney's office supplied us with the credit report they would be incorp. with our bk....it had an address that we hadn't lived at in 35 years as our "main" address.

there were so many errors on that report it was unreal.

you must go over everything with a fine tooth comb...after all ...ONLY YOU know what information is correct in reference to your personal life...not your attorney's office. you don't want to blame him or her later for leaving out a debt or misinformation that that report may or may not have provided....that really falls in your lap.

good luck...i'm sure you will do just fine!

[Refresh1]

We did have about 1 - 1 1/2 hour consult. We had our 09 taxes and pay info. We were given a 1, yes 1, sheet list of paperwork items they needed.

We delivered that paperwork and more yesterday.

We didn't get a questionnaire. Should we be concerned, or can they parse out the needed information in the consult?

I'm guessing there is more than one way to skin a cat, but I must agree the way our lawyer is doing it seems like the most inefficient way. Rather than having the client fill out a 30 - 50 page questionnaire and just hire people to do basic data entry they've had to hire people with the ability to parse out all the data from stacks of papers.

Any thoughts? Should I question my lawyers style? They've been doing it 23+ years.

[IBroke]

you must go over everything with a fine tooth comb...after all ...ONLY YOU know what information is correct in reference to your personal life...not your attorney's office. you don't want to blame him or her later for leaving out a debt or misinformation that that report may or may not have provided....that really falls in your lap.

Thanks for the info, tobee43!

I'm going to receive the prepared petition for review prior to filing.

I have so many creditors and some are not on my credit-report (any more). I asked my attorney if every creditor has to be on the petition and he told me that since it is a no-asset CH7, it wouldn't be necessary.

The questionnaire is focused on my assets rather than my debt. It also asks about my current expenses. But they simply don't want a list of creditors. They only want a copy of the judgement filed against me.

[ccsjoe]

IBroke,

Tobee has a very valid point. I am very comfortable with my attorney, however upon reviewing our petition draft yesterday, I ended up emailing question/notations/or changes to 17 line items ojn the entire 41 page petition. When he replies and has his paralegal send the revised petition, we will again go through it meticulously until we can deem it as final. This has to happen before 8/25, as that's our signing appointment for a 8/27 filing date.