“Can You Show Me Which One Is My Lawyer?”
By Peter Orville, Attorney at Law on Jul 20, 2008 in Bankruptcy Practice and Procedure, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Choosing Bankruptcy Attorney, General Bankruptcy Information, Protecting Assets In Bankruptcy, Reaffirmation of Debts, Redemption of Assets, Role Of The Lawyer, Surrendering Property
At a recent meeting of creditors, I was approached by a woman who asked me if I could point out her lawyer so she could meet him before she had to go before the trustee and answer questions about her case. I asked her if she had ever met her bankruptcy lawyer before, and she said no, she had done everything with his legal assistant. Before too long, two more people asked me to show them who their lawyer was. This, in my view, is just plain wrong.
Filing a bankruptcy petition properly, which is the only way you want to do it, is not too difficult if every step is guided by an attorney who is well versed in the hundreds of potential pitfalls found in the bankruptcy code. Along the way you need to be sure to get your lawyer’s expert advice. Among the decisions that must be made are:
*Which chapter should you file?
*Which exemptions should you take?
*Will you lose any of your property?
*How should you deal with your secured debt?
*Should you surrender?
*Should you redeem?
*Should you reaffirm?
*Should you cram it down in a Chapter 13?
*What interest rate should you pay?
It is very important to review every page of your bankruptcy petition with your lawyer, and be sure that you get to ask, and your lawyer gets to fully answer all of your questions. You should never sign your bankruptcy petition without your attorney.
If the first time you get to meet your attorney is at the meeting of creditors, you…and you lawyer…are asking for trouble.
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