What can I do about a rude bankruptcy attorney who has made a couple of mistakes?
Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at
8:19 pm
monica_au04 asked:
My husband and I have filed for ch. 13 bankruptcy in Texas. The attorney that he selected tends to range from nice to rude, especially when we don’t understand an issue. He tends to be a bit pompous when he responds to us. He missed one major creditor that had to be added in as an amendment (property taxes) and failed to calculate the correct amount of monies paid to creditors in the past 90 days. He saw the property tax statement and gave it back to me, and we didn’t add it in the worksheet. I gave him a list of creditors and amounts that we had paid in that time frame, but he only filed our statement of income showing one payment per creditor. Our meeting of creditors is in 20 days. I have considered firing him and getting another attorney. Can I get a refund on his fees from him? Is it possible to have another attorney review our bankruptcy paperwork (second opinion) before being finalized to make sure everything is correct before we find another mistake or the court finds one? Tks.
My husband and I have filed for ch. 13 bankruptcy in Texas. The attorney that he selected tends to range from nice to rude, especially when we don’t understand an issue. He tends to be a bit pompous when he responds to us. He missed one major creditor that had to be added in as an amendment (property taxes) and failed to calculate the correct amount of monies paid to creditors in the past 90 days. He saw the property tax statement and gave it back to me, and we didn’t add it in the worksheet. I gave him a list of creditors and amounts that we had paid in that time frame, but he only filed our statement of income showing one payment per creditor. Our meeting of creditors is in 20 days. I have considered firing him and getting another attorney. Can I get a refund on his fees from him? Is it possible to have another attorney review our bankruptcy paperwork (second opinion) before being finalized to make sure everything is correct before we find another mistake or the court finds one? Tks.
fire him and sue him for the retainer fee
sounds to me as though your making it to your meetings just fine, can afford the gas, paying down bills over the past ninety days, can afford that too. You have acces to or have internet service, which means there is a cable and/or phone bill too. Hows your cell service just fine I hope.
I am so tired of all you people going bankrupt.
So why don’t you just pay your creditors, you didn’t have any problems taking their money.
Maybe he is snide to you for a reason.
i don’t know if you can get a refund or not but this is a very seriouse issue you have no choice but to fire him. when you hire your next lawyer tell him ever thing the other lawyer did he may be able to file for an extension and file a motion to at least get a partial refund for misrepresentation pick your next attorney carefully, you can usually get 1 free consultation with each attorney you interview see which 1 gives you the best advice before hiring anyone good luck to you
You could get a second opinion. You could fire your attorney. You could ask the court to review your lawyer’s fees under section 329 of the Bankruptcy Code. You’d probably have to pay another lawyer something to take the time to review your first attorney’s file. You could discuss this with the local bar association or the state bar. You may have specialists in Bankruptcy in Texas. Have you considered looking for a certified specialist in the field?
You may simply have difficulties in communication with your attorney. Why not express your concerns to him in the first place and see if you can work things out. If not, consider some of the alternatives mentioned above.