New to all this so don't laugh. =P

[Mark80]

[CountryGirl]

Hey Mark. We so far have had smooth sailing. We did "lawyer shop" though and found a bk attorney who had a relationship with the court as a magistrate (sp?). We kind of thought that with that in his background he would have to have at least a minimal relationship with the court personnel, trustees, and judges. He had an assistant but for stictly secretarial types of duties. He returned all of our calls and met with us personally as needed. He did however have another attorney fill in for him at our 341 hearing which I was not particularly happy about but he called ahead of time to say that if he anticipated any problems he would never allow someone to fill in for him. So all in all, I think we got exceptional service compared to many but we definitly shopped for the service we were looking for. I had heard to many nightmare stories to put this in the hands of someone we could not be confident in.

Good luck to you. Empower yourself with information, it makes all the difference. Truly I could have compiled the info, filled out the forms, filed our case, etc, etc because I had educated myself but I mainly did that for the purpose of checking on my attorney to be sure he was doing all he was supposed to for us. It made the experience less stressful knowing we were on the right track.

[FLBK7]

Hey Mark. We so far have had smooth sailing. We did "lawyer shop" though and found a bk attorney who had a relationship with the court as a magistrate (sp?). We kind of thought that with that in his background he would have to have at least a minimal relationship with the court personnel, trustees, and judges. He had an assistant but for stictly secretarial types of duties. He returned all of our calls and met with us personally as needed. He did however have another attorney fill in for him at our 341 hearing which I was not particularly happy about but he called ahead of time to say that if he anticipated any problems he would never allow someone to fill in for him. So all in all, I think we got exceptional service compared to many but we definitly shopped for the service we were looking for. I had heard to many nightmare stories to put this in the hands of someone we could not be confident in.

Good luck to you. Empower yourself with information, it makes all the difference. Truly I could have compiled the info, filled out the forms, filed our case, etc, etc because I had educated myself but I mainly did that for the purpose of checking on my attorney to be sure he was doing all he was supposed to for us. It made the experience less stressful knowing we were on the right track.

It actually sounds like you had a WONDERFUL attorney as far as the BK types go! In my case I freaked out because I got a lawsuit summons, and immediately went with the BK attorney that had a weekly BK program on our local radio station. I figured that since he sounded so confident and knowledgeable, he would be tops!?

Well, he was personable and knowledgeable the first and only time I met with him. He sent his partner (whom I had never met or even seen!) to my 341. And all my contacts with his firm after the initial meeting were with his paralegals or his secretary or his receptionist. My case was pretty much a straight chapter 7 so there were no problems (just like he assured me at our only meeting), but I realize now that attorneys that glitter aren't made of gold!

Again, I'm so glad you prepared yourselves so well. Congratulations!

[Mark80]

When collectors finally do file a judgement against you, or summons you to court. How long do you usually have once the letter arrives? And I know there is no solid number, but how long did your collectors take to finally go that route?

I'm guessing you had enough time to dodge it as you filed right when it came?

[HHM]

To be fair,

You had your consultation with the attorney. And you didn't hire him on the spot, so I am not sure why you would expect to speak to the attorney again. You don't get an ongoing dialog with the attorney.

In that respect, yes, it would be perfectly normal for a paralegal or assistant to return your call.

[Mark80]

Well I was confused going in on how it worked. I get that now, however he told me to fill out the packet and send it in, and then told me to call "him" if I had anymore questions. I agreed to use him and signed some papers, and told him I would have to wait to pay until late August, he said no problem. I did in fact have a few questions, so I tried to contact him with no luck. I didn't know at the time that the attorney is pretty much a front and uses assistants (para's) to do all the work. *shrug*

I felt things were rolling at that point, but got caught off guard by the lack of response from his office. It worried me, as I thought, "what if something comes up during the process and I get stressed and need an answer".

Obviously it was all just my ignorance in how things work.

[FLBK7]

When collectors finally do file a judgement against you, or summons you to court. How long do you usually have once the letter arrives? And I know there is no solid number, but how long did your collectors take to finally go that route?

I'm guessing you had enough time to dodge it as you filed right when it came?

The summons said I had to respond within 20 days. There was no court date on it. "You are hereby advised that you are being sued, blah, blah, blah..." I freaked out and met with and retained the lawyer 2 days later.

I didn't have enough money to file right then and there so I gave the guy a $500 retainer (he charged me $1275 for a no-asset chapter 7, back in 2004). He didn't file the official response to the summons for me, but he did tell me how to do it and what to say. So I prepared a response and personally filed it with the Clerk of Courts the very next day. Basically it was a stalling response asking for debt validation, but with the proper legal terms and in proper legal format. After it was filed, I asked for a stamped (official) copy and sent it to Discover's collection agency via certified mail with return receipt requested. About 3 weeks later the collection agency/lawyers for Discover sent me a bunch of paperwork to fill out, and gave me 30 days to return the stuff to them. I ignored it, because I was able to file before the deadline and listed Discover AND listed the lawsuit in my BK paperwork. My BK attorney also filed a "Suggestion of Bankruptcy" in response to Discover's lawsuit.

Hope this helps.

[Mark80]

It does help! Thanks for explaining it to me!

I have finally decided to just file next month instead of trying to go 6 months with reduced wages anyhow. As we are still behind on many things, with more medical bills piling up. I want the stress to be over with!

[Cali]

I met with attorney on consultation. And I met with attorney again on the day I filed.

The paralegal was the one that did all the work. And my attorney wasn't the one that went with me to my 341. They have another attorney do that.

I do have my attorney's direct number, so if I really had any questions that I wanted him to answer I could call him.

[Mark80]

I got the feeling this is how its going to be for me. But I guess as long as things go smoothly and I can get any questions answered I will be fine. Its kind of up in the air of course, but I'm crossing my fingers.