Do you think your Lawer screwed you?

[Carloscda]

At first I filled for 13 and my payments were only $330.00mo. Than several months later lawyer calls and says something to the effect that because of the reworked means test my payments will now be $475?

One of my payments was received a wk late resulting in the trustee moving for dismissal?! So as a counter we filed for 7 which ended up having the stay lifted which really screwed me up as far as my car was concerned! Because all the time from when the stay was first imposed they wanted me to pay 8k to keep the car! Umm if I had 8k just like that I wouldn't be in this position to begin with!

I received the letter from the bank saying I have 2wks to come up with the 8k. I asked the lawyer to make some kind of arrangements before the deadline. Yes I will was his response, but he never did. End result was they came & got the car.

Now all along he was like you should just let the car go?? I'm saying to my self are you serious I only have 1 more yr before it's paid off, all that money just thrown away!

I really should have inquired more about what was going on but since he was the professional I trusted his judgment.

That's why I feel screwed! How do you guys feel your cases was handled?

[HHM]

I hate to disagree, but none of what you described sounds like your lawyers fault...(except for maybe that he didn't fully explain everything to you).

1. Chapter 13 payments. It is not uncommon for the chapter 13 payment to change during the confirmation process. In fact, the initial payment proposed is almost never the payment amount that gets confirmed. A chapter 13 payment is very much a negotiation between you and the chapter 13 trustee.

2. You paid a week a late, that is your fault, not your attorney.

3. You fell behind on payments on the car, that is not your attorney's fault. The natural consequence in chapter 7 bankruptcy is that you will "most" likely lose the car. There really is no arrangement to make.

[BKAttyMI]

I agree, it sounds like you just aren't clear on what happened in your case. If you don't pay on time, you can't keep assets or the bankruptcy going, simple as that. Whether the Trustee or car company decide to take action if your payments are late is up to them, not your attorney.

[tobee43]

we had an excellent atty.

we were clear as to what we expected from the firm and they were clear as to what was expected from us.

while the atty that handled out bk was young and new...i can't deny he knew his stuff....and that's all i asked.

we had some extremely complex situations in our bk. i felt the firm did a great job...would highly recommend them...and would use them again!

you need to lay everything on the table....atty's are NOT mind readers and cannot and do not know YOUR personal life. that may seem harsh...but there job is not to be your friend..it's to help you through this legal situation and look out for your best interest..which they only can do if you have told them everything last concern.

[Carloscda]

I totally agree me getting the payment there a wk late was my fault, I got my dates mixed up. I know the lawyer is not there to be your friend.

I posted this because looking back things that I should've inquired about I didn't and that's my fault as well.
One of the things like I said he keep saying just give the car up like it's no big deal. I called him several times & he never returned my calls on the situation.

Anyway discharged since February and trying to get back on my feet. I don't know but why do I feel defeated and all I lost was my car that I had for 4yrs?!

[newbie2]

Carloscda, you weren't "defeated". You successfully discharged your unsecured debt and have a clean slate. You lost your car because you didn't pay for it - plain and simple. It's like that old saying that people hear when signing a note for their home loan: "Don't pay, don't stay."

We made many mistakes during our BK process, and they cost us dearly. The biggest was not interviewing more than one attorney. Had we done that we would have likely been able to file a Chapter 7 instead of a Chapter 13 and we would be 4+ years past discharge now. Our lawyer didn't screw us (unless you count her not showing up to our 341 meeting and having to have it rescheduled :-). We screwed ourselves by sticking with the law firm, not asking enough questions and not insisting that the firm look out for our best interest.

[tobee43]

I totally agree me getting the payment there a wk late was my fault, I got my dates mixed up. I know the lawyer is not there to be your friend.

I posted this because looking back things that I should've inquired about I didn't and that's my fault as well.
One of the things like I said he keep saying just give the car up like it's no big deal. I called him several times & he never returned my calls on the situation.

Anyway discharged since February and trying to get back on my feet. I don't know but why do I feel defeated and all I lost was my car that I had for 4yrs?!

carlo....hindsight is not 20/20...it's blind...

since most of us have never been HERE or done THAT...we made mistakes and wish we could or would have handled things differently.

i totally understand how you feel about your car and would do the same as you...be upset and angry.

however, maybe you need to tell the atty....NO....i need your help because i want to KEEP it...now can you help or not please. i do need your help if i want to keep it...what needs to be done...if anything??? etc.

best of luck...i hope you can work something out to keep your car. even call the bank yourself...or better YET go in...beg...do whatever you need to....they don't want your used car...they want your money...see what you can do! go for it!

[drowning123]

That attorney is done with you, Carlo. It's all about the Benjamins and as far as he's concerned, his job was done after the minute the 341 meeting ended. There's no following up. I wouldn't say the attorney screwed you, I'd say you didn't discover this forum before you filed. :-) Sorry, just had to throw that in there.