I shold have run another direction!

[Okieblue]

If anything about the first impression feels really wrong please run in another direction. ie: Not answering the phone 3 days in a row. or Files all over the place in random stacks. Oh man, I went for a free consult today and was shocked at the office, kind of run down, piles of papers everywhere. Problem is, I am too worn down to keep looking for someone else. I don't want to tell my story to every Tom, Dick and Harry out there. Price is $1800 down, and if it goes 13, another grand added to plan.

[SunkShip]

Okieblue- If everything else felt right about that lawyer then you make the informed decision to use a lawyer with less organizational skills.
But I would think hard about it, you want your lawyer to be on top of stuff but not literally. The extra effort now might save you a ton of research and sleepless nights in a month or two. I know how hard it is to keep going through it over and over again, I made the same choice and I regret it.

[KevFinnerty]

Good luck to you folks - am going through similar things myself.

My draft petition had major errors and omissions. Then (my own fault) I put off correcting the errors for a week since I was so depressed and frustrated with trying to deal with it all, plus they TOLD me "no hurry, in fact we should wait until they are ready to do a sheriff's sale on your house before we file". So then I spend 12 hours on it correcting the draft & dropped it off. Their advice now being changed to "oh! we need to file immediately before they get a judgement on your house!!!! Get this back to us right away!!" So I got the second draft back today - some of my corrections have been ignored/missed. Other things I see wrong. Have to send another 2-3 hours going over it all in detail and submit it again, try a different tact this time perhaps, to get them to even SEE the corrections?? Sigh. I like the paralegal, she is very nice, but this is just so - wrong, and doubly stressful.

Plus there is so much I am hearing like "oh that doesn't matter it is just a formality" - applied to things like listing my assets correctly. Overall the picture that is being presented to me that this is just how the bk system works (in my county at least), that nobody cares (the trustee, the courts, the creditors, and especially the lawyers) as far as whether the forms are actually filled out as correctly as possible. Me, being the one having to go through with this, my life at stake/risk, I'd rather try to do it right & honestly, but don't want to be viewed as a pest (by my lawyer) either. Not a good situation in my opinion.

[ladycee]

Hello Sunkship,

so sorry for your negative experience. I experienced similar problems and at the time, had not yet found this great forum, which has been a life saver for me since. (see my post "Strange Attorney Actions")

Also found a really good link which gives good advice on how to choose the lawyer that's "right" for you:


Ten Questions to Ask a Bankruptcy Attorney

by Dana Wilkinson, Attorney at Law

http://www.*************************...ptcy-attorney/

When I read this it was too late for me, but I hope others getting ready to file will read it.

I am sitting on pins & needles waiting to hear how your 341 Meeting went....fingers crossed for you,

Chris

[ladycee]

https://www.************************...uptcy-attorney

Trying to post link again....C

Still won't work....It can be found at bankruptcylawnetworks site...guess do a search for 12/17/2007 article

Ten Questions to Ask a Bankruptcy Attorney....

or it might come up with a google search.....if anyone needs me to...I can copy the article and post it.

Cheers,

Chris