Get a 2nd opinion on a Bankruptcy Lawyer???

[tools2teach]

I have a attoryney that is fairly young and inexperienced. She smart and seems to know her stuff, but there are few things about her that really irks me. I know she is really busy so she doesnt return my calls or answer my emails. I have already gone through the means test and we failed to get chapter 7 by $400.

My question is.....Does a good bankruptcy lawyer make a difference? I am thinking of getting a second opinion. If is does can someone refer me to a good lawyer in the Orange County area

[HHM]

The means test if fairly straightforward, so really any BK attorney (and any person) can do it...its very mathematically and all the expenses are predetermined by your household size and geographic location. Thus, in that respect, having a good or not-so-good BK attorney doesn't really matter.

Where it might matter is if on Schedule I&J, you can show negative disposable income so you can squeeze into a 7 notwithstanding failing the means test and do you have an attorney willing to fight that fight for you, (most won't, and frankly, the ones that will take the fight tend to cost more...but you are probably getting more value for your money).

Most attorney's are not going to run through a means test at a consultation, so you won't really get an answer by seeking a 2nd opinion.

[domaingamer]

If you can find a free or cheap 2nd opinion it wouldn't hurt - but it may be more trouble than it's worth.

[albacore44]

Means test

The means test if fairly straightforward, so really any BK attorney (and any person) can do it...its very mathematically and all the expenses are predetermined by your household size and geographic location. Thus, in that respect, having a good or not-so-good BK attorney doesn't really matter.

Where it might matter is if on Schedule I&J, you can show negative disposable income so you can squeeze into a 7 notwithstanding failing the means test and do you have an attorney willing to fight that fight for you, (most won't, and frankly, the ones that will take the fight tend to cost more...but you are probably getting more value for your money).

Most attorney's are not going to run through a means test at a consultation, so you won't really get an answer by seeking a 2nd opinion.

I took the online means test, but could not locate a line to put in the auto insurance, mortgage insurance, or the property taxes. it did make references to put a yes on no in the column on the secured creditors if the ins/prop taxes were included in the payment. So I added them into the mort payment amount, and lo and behold I pass the means test. Did i miss something or do they calculate those automatically ??

[tools2teach]

I have contacted a reputable attorney with 29yrs experience and arguably one of the best ones in Los Angeles. I don't want to take a chance on a recent college grad. I will end up terminating my business relationship with my current attorney. I believe we might have to do a I & J schedule we because we are very close to boderline on the means test.

[evilxs]

Absa****inglutely

I could not say it more clearly. $400 bucks? total or a month?

I am well over the means test. The first attorney just blew me off with a well that is just how it is and you will not do any better. Accept your 13, pay every penny of what you owe and hey at least the interest will stop and it will give you a shot to get back on your feet.

Pretty depressing moment just because I cannot see how I could possibly afford it.

I did not tell the second opinion that I had seen another lawyer. I just gave out all of the same facts. My what a different answer. He thinks he can argue a chapter 7, maybe he wont succeed, but I never even pushed I just asked what his opinion was and he feels like he might be able to make this swing given the circumstances.

Don't ever give up. Find an attorney who really cares about you. Mine treated me very differently than the first one. He actually cared what had happened and exactly what was going on and asked questions the other didn't care about that formed his opinion on the right course of action.

When he couldn't finish my means stuff today he emailed and apologized and let me know hey I didn't forget about you, I will call you in the morning and let you know what I was about to make work. He is no desperate newbie, he's been doing this 25 years and does more complex business filings. That is the kind of attorney you want. You want your case to be cake for him so he knows all of the things he can get away with in your situation. Someone right out of college does not know the intricacies of the law as well, does not know the local trustees as well, does not know your judge well.

He told me flat out that he knows he can argue with our local trustee about the immense burden student loans carry as they are non-dischargeable. Most attorneys won't even touch that battle because hey the law gives it no room for argument. But he's known the guy 20 years.

Never give up hope.