Worried about schedules filed by attorney.

[tonyk81]

So I am starting to think that we got not the best attorney here even though he is highly recommended in this area and seems to have the most bk clients.

We went to his office yesterday to do the filing. He had us verify all the creditors, and initial, and sign various sheets to indicate our approval; and then he would e-file the case.

When I looked on Pacer later after the case was filed information filed is different than what we signed and initialed on the forms.

For example... he deleted a Bank of America and Chase account because he said they were duplicate and showed a $0 balance. Well those accounts actually did not end up being duplicate, and they weren't included in another lawsuit.

Some of the balances on the filing were incorrect. They are at $0.

One address for a creditor shows Athelstane WI 54104 instead of Sioux Falls SD 57104.

One Dell account for my wife was no longer on the filing. Just mine was showing.

So I go and talk to him about these things this morning and he says it is not a big deal. He says it doesn't matter if all the accounts don't show. Supposedly the creditor just gets a notice showing name of both parties on the filing and social security number and they will do a search for all accounts and they will all be wiped out. He said it looked better if it only showed 1-49 creditors instead of 50+, and a total balance of $50 to $100,000 rather than the $135,000 or so.

This seems to go contrary to what the bankruptcy schedules require, that you list each and every account, and the full balance.

Has anyone heard of this before? Are these accounts in jepoardy of not being discharged? I asked him to please add them back on there, and make everything right but he won't amend the file.

I am very worried about this.

[JEM]

I do know that our attorney told us that the balances listed weren't AS big of a deal as making sure all creditors were, in fact listed.

He said the balances change almost every time they send you a new notice. He said get it as accurate as possible, but not to worry if it was "off".

I would be more concerned with the fact that you think they are creditors missing.

Now, our things had been in collections for so long that they had been sold to various collection agencies. Our attorney did tell us that it was most important to get the original creditor, and list the collection agency when known. But he said if Chase was sold first to ABC collector, than to XYZ collector, than to Dirtbag collector and we forgot a collector in the mix somewhere that it was ok. Does that make sense?

[daylate]

It seems to me that neglecting 35k or so of debt is not a good thing to do. hard to argue "oh we just overlooked that". I've read here that if you are a no asset case then if a creditor who was not named surfaces later you're ok, the theory being they wouldn't have got anything anyway even if they had been listed. But if you have assets or wind up in a 13 for some reason, then I think you may have some problems. Not to mention that when you sign the papers you are declaring that its all true and when asked at the 341 you will be under oath and that may be a problem for you also. Me I'd get them listed. I don't think the amount of your debt is an issue, if it all falls within the rules for dischargeable debt. Good luck.

[tonyk81]

I want them listed to, but what if my attorney is refusing to do anything about it. Is there a way I can amend the schedule and add them myself?

[tonyk81]

Also the companies themselves Bank of America and Chase show up, because there are other accounts. But he said that each specific account doesn't need to be listed???? Doesn't sound right to me.

[panda]

I had two and three accounts with Amex and Chase. I listed them on the forms and my attorney told me that dupilcating them on the mailing matrix was not done as each one is notified electronically with the ss# and name and they pull all of the accounts associated with that. I do know that chase was listed twice on the matrix and when the bk court did the mailings they put a star next to one of them, pulled it from the mailing section and stated duplicate, not mailed.

So, in short, if you have more than one account with a credit card, if it is listed at least once they will be notified. Now on the other hand, in the rest of my paperwork where the debts were listed individually on one form, I did list each account with the total amount due individually. Hope that helps some instead of confusing the situation more.

[LadyInTheRed]

I want them listed to, but what if my attorney is refusing to do anything about it. Is there a way I can amend the schedule and add them myself?

Do you have a copy of the version you signed? If so, I would highlight what was changed and take it with you to your 341. Whether you have a copy or not, when the trustee asks you if your petition is accurate, tell him/her what happened. But, tell your attorney now that this is what you intend to do if he does not file an amendement. If he has a problem with that, tell him you are not willing to commit perjury.

Also the companies themselves Bank of America and Chase show up, because there are other accounts. But he said that each specific account doesn't need to be listed???? Doesn't sound right to me.

If the creditor is served with notice, all debt owed to the creditor will be discharged even if all accounts are not listed. But, if the total amount due to each creditor is not included, I think the ommission is still an issue since you signed the petition under penalty of perjury and will again have to state at your 341, under penalty of perjury, whether the contents are correct. In reality, nothing may ever happen if you confirm the info in your petition as filed is correct. But, why take any risk at all?

[tonyk81]

Thanks for the replies. This really sucks, you know. Pay the attorney $1000 to represent your case... then they won't respond to calls or emails. The only way to talk to them is go and catch them at the office in person. And then he pulls something like this. And when I see the BK paperwork that is filed, yes there are a lot of documents, but nothing extremely more complex than say a tax return etc.

So they make $1000 to have their para-legal do up the documents correctly, then they go mess it up, spend 1/2 hour with you signing papers, representing you for less than 10 minutes at a 341 meeting, and thats it. I wish I could make $1000 that easy.

[rustymich]

Did you pull the credit reports for you and your spouse,and list any open accounts with any amounts they should be listed..Your attorney shouldnt do that if they removed some listed,ask them what there thinking is?????

[rustymich]

[ Pay the attorney $1000 to represent your case...

I payed twice that amount,and did alot of the work for them they had my numbers way off PS no-one cares more about your case then you...Just pray its over soon,my hair is really turning gray...Good luck stand firm!!!

[tonyk81]

Yes the credit reports were already pulled, although they didn't give me any creditors I didn't already have. I dutifully listed every last creditor on the questioneere they attorney gave me to fill out in the weeks prior to filing. And his paralegal listed them all. When we sat down to file the case, they were on the sheet we initialed and signed. Then when the case is filed, things were changed!

That seems to border on fraud and misrepresentation to me. His reasoning... since the creditor will receive notice with joint names and ssn; they don't all need to be listed on the unsecured creditor list. He says it doesn't matter, it will be wiped out anyway.

[LadyInTheRed]

It is definitely unethical (and, I think, illegal) to change the petition after you sign it without your authorization. I think if you tell him you will explain what happened to the trustee to avoid perjuring yourself, he is likely to file an amendment. He won't want you going in and telling the trustee that what he filed was not the same as what you signed.

[tonyk81]

I went on to the Utah BK court web-site and you can chat with administration. I asked about his, but didn't give them my case number as I didn't want my case red flagged or anything.

She instructed me how I can amend the petition myself if the attorney is unwilling to do so, and agreed that it is best to be honest, open, and up front about all accounts. She also stated that it doesn't matter much if the balance is incorrect or if it shows $0.00.

So I filled out the forms and will send them in to the bk office in SLC today to get these deleted accounts listed.

[tonyk81]

I chatted with them again to see who to make the check out to. This person suggested I file a complaint with the Utah BAR first before modifying the case on my own. She said I could run into problems with the attorney if I try and make the changes myself and am represented by counsel.

I will fax the complaint to the BAR today regarding this.