Bad Lawyer? Can I get my money back?

[Venom]

Hello everyone. About 4 months ago I decided to file BK. I called up a local lawyer and he set up an appointment with me. At the first meeting (the free one) we basically went over what debts I had and if I had anything of value. He then set out the payment plan for me to pay him to help me file. We did not do any means test or anything at this meeting. One week later I borrowed the required money from a friend and went to see him again. This time we did the means test and budget evaluation. I also did a pre counceling class before seeing him again. It was at this time he said I had $700 or so extra a month because he said taxes and other deductions from my ( and my wifes) checks were not calculated in the expenses. I had to reschedule three times before I could see him again in another meeting since he needed more pay stubs. At this meeting he told me I would have to pay back 80% of my total debt over 5 years in a chapter 13. I explained to him I could not make the payments, but he pushed ahead and had my paycheck debited every two weeks anyways. I also never made my initial payment within 10 days. During this time my car broke down and I asked him if I added a vehicle payment if that would lower my payments. He said it would not be wise to add something now because it would not affect the payments. At my 341 meeting I showed up 10min before the meeting instead of the 25 like he asked. When I finally found where the Trustee for my case was she informed me my lawyer had already left and I needed to call him to reschedule a new meeting. I have called him at least 6 times with no answer. Then I get a letter in the mail stating my case will be dismissed if I dont make the initial payment within 10 days and reschedule a new meeting.

Here are my questions:

1. Was I supposed to pay this guy any money before he did a means test for me to see what I could file?

2. What if I cant make that initial payment (which I cant)

3. Is there anyway I could get my money I already paid this man back and try a different lawyer? He has not been helpful at all and done nothing to make my debt more managable.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to make sure anyone who reads this gets the whole story.

[lrprn]

So let me make sure I have this straight....

You paid this lawyer a partial payment on his retainer fee. The lawyer then set up automatic withdrawals from your account to pay for the rest of his fee.

Then even though you knew you couldn't make the payments for a Ch 13, you signed the forms anyway so the lawyer could file them with the court.

And now that your case is in danger of being dismissed because you haven't made your Ch 13 payment within 30 days of filing, the lawyer isn't returning your phone calls.

Did I understand everything correctly?

[Venom]

No he did not setup something with my account for the rest of his fees. I made a large initial payment and nothing since then.

After I signed the papers, I went over my paperwork again and seen where he was coming up with the extra 700 and I realised I wasnt going to be able to make the payments, but the automatic withdrawal from my paycheck was setup. I tried to contact him and he said we could go over the paperwork again, but filing an ammendment might not yield any results. Pretty much everything Ive mentioned to him after signing the papers hes complained about or tries to talk me out of doing it.

Yes you are correct about the last part. I never made the first months payment within the first 10 days. They started making the withdrawals from my paychecks, but now Im behind on my bills because of it. And I guess if I dont make that payment within the next week or so they will dismiss my BK

[freshstart06]

Yes, that was a pretty bad lawyer. you can add taxes and deductions on your means test. go to www.legalconsumer.com and you can do your own means test. When I first decided to file chpt 7, we ran into flakes and lawyer requiring large amounts of money the we just could not afford. We just decided to do it ourselves and even though we are over the median we are awaiting closing as we speak. Not telling you to do it yourself but besides not having the money that kind of thing with bad lawyers scared me, we were way too broke for that LOL.

My cousin had a really good lawyer that really cared about her not just only her case but her emotional state. My advice is to fire your lawyer, report him and try to convert to 7 as soon as possible. Some of the gurus on the board can give you really good advice on how to point out a really good lawyer. good luck all is not lost.

[guzzie]

sorry about your atty problems....hope you find a good one willing to help you....good luck

[JollyGG]

Some information could definately help us out here. Sorry if you already asked these quesitions.

What state do you live in?
How much money did you make over last six months gross?
Are there any adults or children living with you?
Do you have any houses or cars? How much equity in those? Do you want to keept them? Are you current on them?'
If there is any other income coming into your house over the last six months.

Try going to the this site to check out the median income for your state http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/2...come_table.htm.
And check out the means test on this site to give you some information about where you fall on the means thest. http://www.legalconsumer.com/means-t...ator/index.php The means test determines if you can file chapter 7 or chapter 13. If you end up needing to file a chapter seven it will give you a basic idea about what you payment might be (though that number won't be totally accurate until you work with your lawyer and your trustee).
This link will help you figure out things that should be included in your budget http://www.ca-bankruptcy-attorneys.c...alculator.html

All of these calculators can be found in "lings for members" in the "general bankruptcy talk" section of this site.

[Pandora]

Er...these are lawyers we're talking about. Can't they sue you for libel for setting up a website like that? And wouldn't the lawyer in question also sue anyone who nominated him/her? Just curious...

Its called a spammer Ohiogirl - just ignore this person. They pulled up a post that was 3 years old

[HHM]

Here are my questions:

1. Was I supposed to pay this guy any money before he did a means test for me to see what I could file?

2. What if I cant make that initial payment (which I cant)

3. Is there anyway I could get my money I already paid this man back and try a different lawyer? He has not been helpful at all and done nothing to make my debt more managable.

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to make sure anyone who reads this gets the whole story.

1. Yes...the means test is legal work and lawyers get paid to do legal work. A free consultation is basically designed to determine if you need help, an idea of the preliminary options available to you, and convince the client to hire the firm.

2. All you can do is tell your lawyer, or try to get a new lawyer.

3. Probably not, the lawyer has done some work, dissatisfaction is not necessarily a sufficient criteria for a refund. But, contact your state bar.