As some people know already, my husband and I are moving to North Carolina in a few months. We bit the bullet and went down for a few days for job interviews and attorney interviews. Job interviews went well, seems promising, we'll see.We loved our time in Charlotte, and are thrilled about moving there The bk and moving make it seem like we really are having a fresh start. Curiously, only heard a few southern accents, everyone was from somewhere else, 
Interviewed two different attorneys, we were trying to do three but third atty never answered my e-mail .... okay, that one is out, lol. We have made our choice, but want to know what the majority vote is on the board.
Atty A was in an upscale office downtown, Atty B was on outskirts of city in a slightly neglected office building.
A's receptionist made us feel a bit uncomfortable "You're early ..." in a vaguely accusing tone, and the office was locked when we got there. Not alot of southern charm on display.
B's receptionist apologized that he was still with a client, but would be with us as quickly as he could. We were 1/2 hour early. B came through the office area and apologized for not seeing us right away. We were still early.
A said, when we discussed making sure our expenses would put us in a 7, and renting a home with a higher rent than we would if we weren't declaring BK ... "no, just rent what you are comfortable with". B said "that's a good idea."
A said, re: our expenses and where we could up them "just do what you would normally do " B said " we can usually pad them as we need to to get the desired outcome"
A said, "worst case scenario you need to do a thirteen, and pay a couple hundred back each month for five years, no big deal" B said "What we want to avoid is a 13, so we will do what we need to insure that doesn't happen"
My husband said A made him feel guilty about filing when she said "the court is just looking to see if you make enough money to pay back some of the debt, and if you have the ability, then you should do so",
and B made us smile when he referred to the trustee as "now, he's the bad lawyer" (like good cop/bad cop).
A made me feel stupid when she snapped "where did you get that figure?'. I had just explained how we wanted to keep out expenses under $200 on the schedule J.
In the end, Atty A was brisk, businesslike, and sort of reminded us of a schoolteacher. She gave us some forms as we were leaving. Said they had a 4 week processing time. She also threw the other attorney under the bus when I said I didn't want an atty who did a large number of cases in one day. "Like so and so?" she said, and laughed. For the record, he does not do a huge amount, based on the court calender.
Atty B was a younger Andy Griffith as Matlock, complete with good ole boy folksy charm, kidded around and made us feel "Daddy has it all under control". He even shot the breeze with hubby about his work and job interviews while we waited for his paralegal to give us the paperwork we need to fill out. His paralegal went over it page by page, gave us her email for questions, and they had a sample forms packet as well (with a caveat on the front of "do not fill out your form using this sample form information", lol). They had a two week turn around time.
Here is the kicker ... one of these attorneys costs $1600, one $3000. Neither includes court filing costs or the counseling fees. Our gut said Atty B. Are we wrong? Are we falling for his folksy charm? I know the paralegal does all the work and the atty is a figurehead, to some extent. We didn't even meet Atty A's paralegal. What do you all think?
Interviewed two different attorneys, we were trying to do three but third atty never answered my e-mail .... okay, that one is out, lol. We have made our choice, but want to know what the majority vote is on the board.
Atty A was in an upscale office downtown, Atty B was on outskirts of city in a slightly neglected office building.
A's receptionist made us feel a bit uncomfortable "You're early ..." in a vaguely accusing tone, and the office was locked when we got there. Not alot of southern charm on display.
B's receptionist apologized that he was still with a client, but would be with us as quickly as he could. We were 1/2 hour early. B came through the office area and apologized for not seeing us right away. We were still early.
A said, when we discussed making sure our expenses would put us in a 7, and renting a home with a higher rent than we would if we weren't declaring BK ... "no, just rent what you are comfortable with". B said "that's a good idea."
A said, re: our expenses and where we could up them "just do what you would normally do " B said " we can usually pad them as we need to to get the desired outcome"
A said, "worst case scenario you need to do a thirteen, and pay a couple hundred back each month for five years, no big deal" B said "What we want to avoid is a 13, so we will do what we need to insure that doesn't happen"
My husband said A made him feel guilty about filing when she said "the court is just looking to see if you make enough money to pay back some of the debt, and if you have the ability, then you should do so",
and B made us smile when he referred to the trustee as "now, he's the bad lawyer" (like good cop/bad cop).A made me feel stupid when she snapped "where did you get that figure?'. I had just explained how we wanted to keep out expenses under $200 on the schedule J.
In the end, Atty A was brisk, businesslike, and sort of reminded us of a schoolteacher. She gave us some forms as we were leaving. Said they had a 4 week processing time. She also threw the other attorney under the bus when I said I didn't want an atty who did a large number of cases in one day. "Like so and so?" she said, and laughed. For the record, he does not do a huge amount, based on the court calender.
Atty B was a younger Andy Griffith as Matlock, complete with good ole boy folksy charm, kidded around and made us feel "Daddy has it all under control". He even shot the breeze with hubby about his work and job interviews while we waited for his paralegal to give us the paperwork we need to fill out. His paralegal went over it page by page, gave us her email for questions, and they had a sample forms packet as well (with a caveat on the front of "do not fill out your form using this sample form information", lol). They had a two week turn around time.
Here is the kicker ... one of these attorneys costs $1600, one $3000. Neither includes court filing costs or the counseling fees. Our gut said Atty B. Are we wrong? Are we falling for his folksy charm? I know the paralegal does all the work and the atty is a figurehead, to some extent. We didn't even meet Atty A's paralegal. What do you all think?
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