Hearing back from Attorney

[IamOld]

I hope this is the right place for this but...

long story made short - couple of meetings with atty who does NOTHING BUT bkpcy - very good in area where I live in practice for a LONG!!! time.

He's trying to figure out best course of action between Ch 7 and 13 (I have too many "extra" jobs...) at any rate - and I knew this was coming - one large unsecured creditor filed suit - initial court date in about 8 weeks.

SO, I email the lawyer in a panic!!! - it's been a few days and nothing. Called the office and was told that the laywer is really booked up, but that they'll get back to me this week. She said to me (in a very nice way) calm down, it's not like you have to appear in court tomorrow.

Is this normal? Should I call them on Friday (tomorrow) if I don't get something back by then? I'm really besides myself...I don't want to become the client from hell, so to speak....the office is SUPER nice, super knowledgeable, helpful, etc etc. I just HATE not knowing, not hearing...what would be an appropriate time to wait, in other words...

[newbie2]

It is not at all unusual to have to wait to get an appointment, many good law firms are busy. And yes, your court date of 8 weeks away is urgent for you (the stress) but it isn't urgent for the attorney. Many bk lawyers have to file "emergency" petitions to halt foreclosures and such, so they will have a tendency to triage your "urgency" (Most urgent in first, etc.) It sounds like you are happy with this law firm otherwise, so hang in there.

[IamOld]

THANKS!!!! I'm glad you said what you did say...you know I don't want to be the "annoying" client. BUT I think it's also possible that my email got lost in his pile of emails...I'll check with the paralegal on MONDAY then if no answer by then...very nicely and humbly :-)

AGAIN - THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

[IamOld]

Well guys, I sent a follow-up email to my "assigned" paralegal very late last night and left a phone message. Still nothing. I really don't want to go thru the weekend wondering....

[Jacey]

I'd give them until noon at least to respond to late night messages at this point in your phone-tag game. If I have something I'm uncomfortable about, I look through this forum and usually find the answers. You probably know from reading here that this is a normal progression of events, and it sounds like you have 8 weeks to file and/or get a continuance. Lawyers can get this done in just a few hours usually if you have all your paperwork ready. If you haven't, start on accumulating all the things they'll need to file and relax. I obsessively organized all my information into a huge binder, and that relieved some of the stress while waiting...plus it looks like I have my s@%* together when I clearly don't! Have a great weekend if you don't hear from him, and remember that that this is just the river of this process flowing on by!

[IamOld]

Thanks!!!!!! But we have another question or two for him as well...AND when we first started, I got an email answered right away - now nothing for basically four days? The lawyer is MORE expensive than others in the area, and I mean...just an email please...I don't think I can wait beyond this afternoon...

[LadyInTheRed]

8 weeks is a long time to get your BK petition filed and avoid any judgment against you. It does not sound like you have an emergency and you've been told that your attorney is very busy. Your phone calls last night and email today are plenty to make sure you haven't been forgotten. Now, try to relax. Trust your attorney to prioritize his workload and get back to you when he has time to adequately answer your questions. Otherwise, you will become the annoying client you don't want to be.

[IamOld]

True - but our situation is complex because of my varying pay I may wind up making too much for Ch 7 (or maybe not, etc) and I just really WANT to - forgive me - NEED to know if this is going to even work. I literally cannot use my phone at home - we get around 100!!! calls per day now...I haven't given the lawyers name to any creditor because I'm not sure if the bkpcy can be made to work or when....but you're right - I'm going to hold off on calling them until Monday - on Monday I really do think that one's call/email should be returned w/in a week, don't you???

[LadyInTheRed]

Yes, somebody should get back to you, even if it's to say the attorney wasn't able to get back to you this week after all but has not forgotten you and will call you by a certain day. I was just trying to discourage you from calling back today.

Have you paid a retainer to this attorney yet?

[IamOld]

Oh yes - over 1000 and more to go!!!! I'm thinking for some reason that this isn't good - so now I'm too far gone to go back...

[IamOld]

Sorry about the double post but I'm thiking that my original email from Monday is buried deep in the inbox...

[LadyInTheRed]

Oh yes - over 1000 and more to go!!!! I'm thinking for some reason that this isn't good - so now I'm too far gone to go back...

I don't think you have anything to worry about yet. The reason I asked is because I have seen people here complaining about an attorney not getting back to them quickly enough when they haven't even retained them yet. I just wanted to rule that possibility out.

[ValleYum]

True - but our situation is complex because of my varying pay I may wind up making too much for Ch 7 (or maybe not, etc) and I just really WANT to - forgive me - NEED to know if this is going to even work. I literally cannot use my phone at home - we get around 100!!! calls per day now...I haven't given the lawyers name to any creditor because I'm not sure if the bkpcy can be made to work or when....but you're right - I'm going to hold off on calling them until Monday - on Monday I really do think that one's call/email should be returned w/in a week, don't you???

Hubby had varying paychecks with our BK. And lots of other little extra income oddities too. We were well over the median and still got through a Ch 7. It took us 89 days from filing to discharge!

Have you tried doing an online Means Test to see if you qualify for Ch 7? It will give you something to do to take your mind off the phone... plus it was reassuring to know once I had completed it that we had a shot at a Ch 7. http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankruptcy/means-test/

I truly understand your stress level; however, I encourage you to take LadyInTheRed's advice and try to wait for a call back or until Monday before you call again.

Hang in there~

[IamOld]

Thanks to you all!!! Well I think at worst we may need to wait a two/three more months for "extra" income (extra - haha) to drop off...forgive me I just "want" clear direction you know? (By the way, I'm about to disconnect home phone :-)

Oh - I did the NOLO means test like a thousand times there are ways it works, there are ways it doesn't.

I'm not necessarily "scared" of a CH 13 AS LONG AS the payment PLUS what I'm paying to the IRS on installment plan now isn't MORE than what I used to pay to creditors...(hopefully less) - we can manage - more or less...

[IamOld]

Just an update - well, I guess I should have done more HW beforehand...apparently the only criticism this person's office gets is that they notoriously do not return phone calls - the thing is, I NEED some answers by next week. I may have to call and insists...I do think no matter who you are - please - just return the dang phone call!