One piece of advice about filing BK

[JPOP1]

I wanted to give my one piece of advice to anyone who is thinking about filing BK in the future and that is to see a couple different lawyers before you file to get there opinions before settling on one. The moderators of this site do a good job of pointing this out. I'm the type of person that would just assume go find a lawyer and trust in him to get the job done. The first lawyer I went to see was going to stick my in a ch.13. I kept reading different post and stories on this website and it seemed like something was just not right with what this lawyer was telling me, or not telling me. So I went to see another lawyer and low and behold he told me that I was a case for ch7. My wife and I together was over the median income for a family of 2 but we flunked the means test big time which allowed us to do the ch7. I have to thank this site and the moderators for giving me the knowledge to see through a lawyer that was not looking out after my best interest. So thanks Guys!

JPOP1

[SinkingFast]

WTG, JPop!!

That's the oldest trick in the book amongst unscrupulous BK attnys. Get you to file a Ch 13 knowing full well you cannot afford the payments. They get their money off the top, out of the plan, so what do they care if you fall flat on your face.

Couple years down the road, if you last that long, you come back to them to Convert you over to Ch 7. Poof! Another fee for conversion to where you shoulda been to start with.

Glad you did not get snared!

Always, ALWAYS, Consult with 3-4 attnys. This is your life here! You want to be very sure you are making the right choice of partner to work with you on the road to BK.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

I guess I got lucky with my one and only first choice. My lawyer was upfront with me. The Median Test showed I had no disposable income but schedules I and J showed I had plenty. My lawyer said I would end up paying the remaining $1000 back to him within a Ch13 plan. He was honest up front and told me if i quit one job (because I had been working 2 jobs I could file for Ch7), but I was persistant in wanting to show "good faith," to pay back the creditors (so I wouldn't create any suspicion - I guess). It ended up 3 months later after no confirmation of a plan and judge hinting that I could quit one job and pay nothing. So, thats what I did. And my lawyer doesn't get anymore money than what was intially given to him. So I was lucky

Catchmeifyoucan

[sarakay5]

This is wonderful advice. If only we had found this site before filing.

We went with the first lawyer we saw. One of our creditors was suing us and we got scared.

We went in, brought all the info she said to bring. She filled out the forms and said we could file a 13 right away and get some peace. Our forms showed us below the median income for a family of 4 and we were upside-down by $500 each month.

We were told that a 13 was the only way to garantee we keep our house and van. (We were current on both) Our van is a 2001 chevy venture. We owe what it is worth. We have no equity in our house. We own nothing special.

I now realize we could have done a 7 and been done with it all. I'm really not sure how the plan was confirmed with no disposable income. We were told that the first of the year the trustee would be doing an audit. We are paying the lawyer ($3500), the trustee and our van payment through the 5 year plan.

We will be looking at converting in 2007. I need to learn a lot more before going back to my lovely lawyer.