Question Chapter 7 deposit and retainer with attorney - requesting partial retainer refund

[nednj36]

At free consultation BK attorney stated Ch 7 should not be a problem based on income average over 6 months for my spouse and me. We issued $1,000 deposit.

During second consultation he stated if 7 doesn't go through, Ch 13 would be an option. My wife said Ch 13 is out of the question as we are getting divorced within the year. We passed means test and he looked up Zillow value which came in at $295,000. It's clear that we to much equity to qualify for a 7, but the attorney stated to my wife: "I don't see any problem with the Ch 7. All I need is a contractors estimate of repairs and a market analysis and we'll be fine."

My wife was nervous and stressed at the second meeting and wrote out the final balance for $1900. Should we decide not to file do you think the attorney will at least refund the $1900 until we're in a position to file? He knows we need to proceed at some point as I have a judgement with a creditor about to levy bank accounts and garnish my pay

[kornellred]

If any amount of a retainer fee is refundable to a client, it would (or certainly should) be explicitly stated in the agreement that the client signed when handing over the fee to the attorney.
You might be "between a rock and a hard place" when it comes to your particular circumstances. Your pending divorce has no bearing upon the BK court's decision to accept or reject a Chapter 7 filing - that is a personal problem. Whether or not you can accept a Chapter 13 makes no difference. And, you went ahead and paid the balance of the attorney's fee, which means you gave the attorney a green light to proceed with the filing. Now, you have no retainer amount. The process is in motion. You will probably have to negotiate with your attorney about possible recovery of a portion of his/her fee. You certainly have no inherent right to recover any of the fee unless it is specified in writing.