Our Bankruptcy Attorney does not tell us anything!?
My Husband and I are filing Chapter 13. We call, leave messages, email and even write our Attorney and she never answers us. Our Meeting with the Creditors is soon, and we want to know what happens to us legally if we do not attend? Our Attorney was made aware that we had questions and wanted to file a dismissal. And she never got back to us.
First off, you really should attend you first 341 (creditors) hearing. If you are not satisfied with your attorney, you need to petition the court to allow you to change counsel now. Contact the trustee. The court will eventually authorize the final payment to your lawyer after the case is closed. After the court pays the lawyer, it’s too late to complain, or to sue your lawyer for legal malpractice if you were to lose everything in bankruptcy.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:38 amdump her and get another! The bottom line is she is not going to be in tuned and prepared for your case as she should be. Maybe you are being paranoid, but good customer service still dictates calling your client back. i had a similar thing happen on a case. I should have gotten another attorney and felt this person had my case for 8 weeks, no way another could learn it in a week. Went to court, my lawyer apparently read the file in the car and interviewed me again for 15 minutes before the trial. When the trail started, in 5 minutes I knew I was doomed. he wasn’t prepared, and i was found guilty. the point is the creditors rep is going to be ready. your attorney thinking that all cases are the same is going to get you screwed.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:38 amDocument your attempts to contact your attorney. Then call your state bar association. One call from them to your attorney should resolve her service levels to you, permanently.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:38 amI’ve helped out a number of people in debt situations….this is not an unusual problem.
You are paying your attorney to advise you. If they won’t even return your calls then they are not helping you.
They get their pay through the bankruptcy process, so with the exception of the money you gave them to file, that’s all they have earned. Fire the attorney and get a new one!
Then send the local bar association a letter to protect his lack of representation.
The creditors meeting is a MUST ATTEND! If you do not show up, your bankruptcy will be dismissed.
Good luck. There are a lot of very poor attorneys out there, and there simply is no excuse for an attorney not to spend 5 minutes returning your call and answering some basic questions.
May 8th, 2010 at 4:38 am