Attorney Questions

[MrJimmyDale]

What questions should I ask my prospective attorney?

I have thought of a few......
1. What is your opinion on reaffirmation?
2. What county should I file in? (Are judges or trustees different?)
3. What should I expect to pay out-of-pocket?

Any advice?

[bcohen]

1. You should not reaffirm anything, except maybe a car which is almost paid off (i.e. less than a year of payments remaining) and worth significantly more than you owe. You should never reaffirm a mortgage, home equity loan, or car loan which is "underwater" and/or has many years left to pay. Some lenders may threaten to repossess even with payments paid current if you don't reaffirm--in that case, I would quit paying and drive the car payment-free until the bankruptcy is discharged, at which point the automatic stay ends.

2. You should file in the county closest to where you live.

3. Proposed attorney fees for a "simple" no-asset Chapter 7 ranged from $2250 to $3500 at the law firms I saw. (It is possible that some attorneys charge more or less than these figures, so keep that in mind.) I thought that was too much money that I didn't have, so instead I bought the Nolo book, did my research online, and filed myself. I successfully discharged all my debts, didn't lose any assets, and didn't pay a dime in attorney's fees.

[AngelinaCat]

What questions should I ask my prospective attorney?

I have thought of a few......
1. What is your opinion on reaffirmation?
2. What county should I file in? (Are judges or trustees different?)
3. What should I expect to pay out-of-pocket?

Any advice?

You are welcome to peruse through all of the threads and educate yourself. Search for posts specific to Tennessee. Once you have armed yourself with some knowledge, come back and ask specific questions regarding your case.

Thanks, AC

[dina13]

For a simple, no-asset ch.7 we paid $1000 to lawyer + filing fees ($306). And the lawyer was pretty good. That might be the lower end of the scale for attorney fees. It probably also depends on the area.

[btbeme]

Its not just what you intend to ask an atty - its also what the atty intends to ask you.

To make the most of that free consultation, I recommend that you get ready to answer a number of specific questions regarding your finances with some specific answers.

When I was interviewing attorneys, I met one with a rare combination of over 30 years BK experience, the best peer ratings I could imagine, a wicked sense of humor, and a half-hour he could see me for my initial consult. Prior to arriving at his office, I was told to complete a questionnaire - which his secretary collected from me before he opened the door to his office. It is about 20 questions long, and contains questions specific to the state in which I live and filed, so you may face different questions, exemptions, etc. But, I found it to be an exhaustive list of what all attorneys seemed to be interested in asking me when I visited, so I carried around a copy with my answers when I visited with all the others.

You bet, I had about a thousand questions - and I wrote them down. When I went in, the questions I answered pretty much answered the questions I had. And that's when I knew I had a good attorney. And he wasn't the cheapest, either, but I wouldn't have traded him for anything.

[Pizza]

1. What is your opinion on reaffirmation?

Almost NEVER.

If you truly wish to retain property, indicate that you intend to reaffirm. This is what is expected of you. There is a great chance that your creditors will not follow through in proposing a reaffirmation agreement, and there is also a chance a judge will not approve them.

My experience: My mortgage company (Wells Fargo) sent nothing. We still receive bills and our credit report is updated with each payment. The only difference is that our statements say "FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY".

My auto lender also sent nothing. We still receive statements and pay them on time. It is through a credit union, and my attorney has indicated that his experience with this lender is no repossession as long as payments are received on time, and they basically missed the boat. All auto lenders are different.

Our statement of intentions indicated 'retain and pay' for the mortgage and 'reaffirm' on the car loan. No eyebrows raised from the court.

[keepmine]

You're gonna need to provide your lawyer with some info.
I'd take your last 2 years tax returns and, your last 6 months of pay stubs. A list of creditors and a list of assets along with the equity in those assets.
Those are good questions to ask but, your lawyer will need some info from you.

[stevie2012]

I paid $1200 for my no asset Ch 7 and that included the filing fees.

[Drazil65]

Our fee for a chapter 7 was $1500 discounted to $1,200 if you paid the balance in 30 days. We also made a few of our appointments in the next county over from ours and ended up using one of the attorneys there. For us it was more of a privacy issue as we live in a small town that tends to print bankruptcy information in the newspaper here. We did not have any issues with filing in another county. Also, make sure your attorney has a handle on the procedure/process and knows as many players as possible in the system where you file, we felt very confident in our attorney as he knew the trustees well and what was expected. Good Luck!