Mr. Purl and I have known for a few years that we need to file bankruptcy. His divorce lawyer told him he’d have to due to a large, spurious debt his ex-wife and her mother stuck him with through some nasty legal trick. (At the time his lawyer said “What they are doing is completely unethical, but unfortunately it’s not illegal.”) He didn’t want to file, and tried for about a year to pull things out.
We tried going to Consumer Credit Counseling Service-- they said they couldn’t help and also advised him to file bankruptcy. He finally accepted the need to do it, but we have been so strapped we haven’t had the money to get an attorney… for three years. His divorce lawyer offered to do it, but then pulled out, saying it was a conflict of interest because he was the second biggest creditor. (He knew that before he offered, so I don’t know what his deal was. But, whattya gonna do?)
Anyway, between our tax refund and a performance bonus Mr. Purl got at work, we may finally be able to afford to file. How do we go about finding a good, yet reasobably priced bankruptcy attorney? (We live in Denver.)
We’ve thought about doing a *pro se * bankruptcy, but we’ve heard that most of these get denied anymore. Is this the case? Under what circumstances can one do a successful pro se bankruptcy? We’re leaning toward getting a lawyer, becauuse we figure ex-grandmonster-in-law will probably go on the warpath. She’s verbally forgiven the debt, but won’t put it in writing, so we figure she’s saving it for the next time she wants to screw up his life. They even tried to put it in the divorce agreement that he couldn’t file for bankruptcy, but his laywer said no way in hell would he ever let Mr. Purl sign it like that, so they dropped it.
Take your bankruptcy questions here. Send a call out to Ladynred and she will answer all your questions. She is very good at what she does.
Just a few things:
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Around here, and probably where you are too, there is very little variation, if any, in the price of bk attys. Debtor’s attorneys have to get their fees approved by the court. I think the standard is $2200 for a 13 here, but I’m not positive (I’m creditor-side).
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I’d strongly advise you against trying to do it yourself, doubly so if you’re attempting a 13. It’s fairly complicated stuff if you aren’t familiar with it, and if you screw up, either the trustee or a creditor will jump at the opportunity to get it dismissed. Just the other day I saw a woman who was on her fourth attempt, and she got it wrong again(!); in this case (and this isn’t uncommon) the creditor’s attorney got a 180 day bar from refiling. So now she’s got six months where she’s powerless to stop her creditors from repo-ing and foreclosing. Dumb and stubborn is a bad combo.
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If you’re doing a 13, a good chunk of the fees will be rolled into the plan. After you cut a check to the trustee each month, what do you care whether the trustee disburses to your attorney or to Visa?
Here’s the bottom line: look for someone you’re comfortable with, who does a lot of personal bankruptcy work, and who is reliable. You may just want to go to court one day (you can find the schedule online) and look for a debtor’s attorney who seems to have their stuff together. Ask him or her for a card, get started.
Good luck to you.
You can get a PACER account and view previously filed cases by attorneys you are considering. (Realize that if you file, your petition will also be public record and available for others to see.)
You can search by attorney name and get a feel for how many bankruptcy cases they handle. You can also view individual petitions. This may help you see how detailed the lawyer’s filings are, plus help you determine what expenses are acceptable in your district.
PACER charges $.08 per page, but there is no fee if your balance is less than $10 for any quarter.
You may want to check out this bankruptcy forum if you have not already done so.