If the lawyer is unresponsive and the matter involves a lawsuit, go to the courthouse and look at your case file, which contains all the papers that have actually been filed with the court. If you've hired a new lawyer, ask her for help in getting your file. Also, ask your state bar association for assistance.
Feb 12, 2012 · If he doesn't respond (and I wouldn't give him more than a couple of days), then you need to find a new attorney. You probably have 10-14 days from the date the order was entered dismissing your case to seek to overturn the dismissal order. Undo Vote.
Dec 15, 2014 · Answered on Dec 15th, 2014 at 3:24 PM. If your attorney fails to file the motion for discharge, then your case will be closed without a discharge. Which means that it's like the bankruptcy never happened, you'd still owe your creditors the full amount, etc. You can reopen the case (Fee $260 locally) and file the motion after the case is ...
Jan 16, 2019 · However, your lawyer must file a notice of appeal within 30 days after the judgment is final. Failure to appeal within 30 days terminates your right to appeal, regardless of how strong your case may be. When a notice of appeal is …
You can save (exempt) items you'll need to work and live using bankruptcy exemptions. A Chapter 7 debtor gives up nonexempt property—the trustee liquidates unprotected property for creditors—but not a Chapter 13 filer. While it might seem as though you'd get to keep more assets, it's not the case.
When you should get your money back You should get a refund if you paid your attorney an upfront fee for the service of preparing your file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy (or as an advance against hours worked) and the attorney didn't perform that service or put in any time on your file.Mar 18, 2021
Concealing or Destroying Information Your bankruptcy also can be denied if you conceal, destroy, falsify, mutilate, or fail to keep information regarding your financial condition.Oct 22, 2021
Filing for bankruptcy can negatively impact your immediate financial future. Obtaining credit after filing for bankruptcy could mean increased interest rates. Obtaining credit after filing for bankruptcy might require security deposits.
Dismissal of a Bankruptcy Case – Dismissal ordinarily means that the court stopped all proceedings in the main bankruptcy case AND in all adversary proceedings, and a discharge order was not entered. Dismissal can occur because a debtor requested the dismissal and qualifies for voluntary dismissal.
In most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, nothing happens to the filer's bank account. As long as the money in your account is protected by an exemption, your bankruptcy filing won't affect it.Mar 21, 2022
For most filers, a Chapter 7 case will end when you receive your discharge—the order that forgives qualified debt—about four to six months after filing the bankruptcy paperwork. Although most cases close after that, your case might remain open longer if you have property that you can't protect (nonexempt assets).
about four to six monthsA Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually takes about four to six months from filing to final discharge, as long as the person who's filing has all their ducks in a row. There are a lot of moving parts to filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and missing or delaying any one of them can slow down or stop the process.Feb 8, 2022
In any case where a bankruptcy petition is dismissed, the individual loses the protection of the automatic stay. This means his or her creditors can resume their collection attempts until he or she gains bankruptcy protection again by successfully filing a case.Aug 10, 2021
You should also say that if you do not hear from them within a certain timeframe that you will need to explore your options. Do not directly threaten them with legal action or a bar complaint. File a complaint. First things first—if you must attend a bankruptcy hearing, go to it even if your attorney hasn’t gotten back to you. ...
If the attorney doesn’t show up, tell the bankruptcy trustee or judge what has happened. You may even want to request more time. At this point, it may be best for you to file a complaint with the bar and find another lawyer.
If you’ve left your bankruptcy attorney several voicemails and gotten no response, try contacting them via email or a private message on social media. If they have a receptionist or assistant, you should also leave a message with them.
If you’re unable to schedule an appointment with the bankruptcy attorney, and they are still not returning your calls or emails, you should just show up to their office. Once you get there, don’t make a scene.
See your attorney, anticipate having to pay or hire a new attorney. You are too far invested to risk losing your investment in the process.
From the date when the last plan payment is made to the date when a case receives discharge and is officially closed can take about 3-4 months. In our jurisdiction, there are a few things that must happen before a discharge can be granted. The Trustee files an accounting report. After that is done, and not before, the debtor or debtor's attorney files a form called "Chapter 13 Individual Debtor's Certifications Regarding Domestic Support Obligations, Section 522 (q) & Eligibility for Discharge" the form can be obtained on the court's website (this is for southern district if you're in a different court - check their website). http://www.casb.uscourts.gov/html/individual_forms.htm it is form CSD 2120. By the way, the fees you paid to your attorney included compensation for taking care of this for you. This form must be filed ONLY AFTER the Trustee files their official accounting report with the court. It's not the notice/letter you receive, it's an actual form filed by the Trustee with the court. If you don't know if this was done yet, you can do a case lookup on www.pacer.gov and check the docket to see what has been filed and when. Also, importantly, you must file, if you haven't already your Certificate of Completing the Financial Management Course AND a signed B23 form. I have my clients actually take care of this at the start of the case so that it is completed and one less thing to worry about and besides some people find the course useful for budgeting purposes while they are in the plan payments mode. If your attorney has abandoned you completely of course you can file a complaint with the state bar, you can file an attorney substitution form, you could mention what is happening to the Trustee's office and maybe you could take care of these two things yourself because they are not terribly complicated, the hard part is done. You can pull the forms down from the court's website and deliver them filled out and signed to the court's clerk. If however your attorney has not abandoned you, let him/her do the work. Some clients get very excited after the last payment and they want the discharge and case closed immediately so they are somewhat disappointed to learn that it takes a bit of time. I have to ask them to be patient and assure them that I haven't forgotten about them. If this tasks are not completed, the case will close without discharge. Although all is not lost. You would incur some filing fee and stamp expenses in reopening the case so that you can take care of these items and get the discharge you deserve. Congratulations on completing the plan payments. I'm sure it's a big relief and hope better things are in store ahead. Take care.
If your attorney fails to file the motion for discharge, then your case will be closed without a discharge. Which means that it's like the bankruptcy never happened, you'd still owe your creditors the full amount, etc.
If someone who owes you money files a bankruptcy petition, you will receive a notice requiring you to file a proof of your claim in the bankruptcy court. Even if you have no security interest—a lien or mortgage—in property owned by the debtor, there may be some assets that can be sold to pay part of the debt owed to you. If your lawyer fails to file this claim within the time provided in the notice, you will probably forfeit any amount that you otherwise might have recovered from the bankruptcy estate.
To recover for malpractice, in addition to showing that your lawyer breached a duty owed to you by failing to file, you will also need to convince the court hearing your malpractice case that it was the lawyer’s failure to file—not any failure on your part or weakness in your case—that caused the har m you sustained .
Legal Malpractice. Much of the work lawyers do involves filing various documents. Often, there are deadlines by which documents must be filed. Even when there are no fixed deadlines, a lawyer’s delay in filing certain documents can permanently impair a client’s rights. You might wonder why a simple failure to file a document “on time” could destroy ...
However, some tort claims—notably legal and medical malpractice—have shorter, one-year time limits for filing.
If your lawyer fails to file such a motion, there is no penalty other than the cost and delay of a potentially unnecessary trial. However, if an opposing party files a summary judgment motion against you, your lawyer must file a written response within the time set by court rules or by the trial judge.
Filing in a timely manner may be necessary to protect a person’s interest in a residential or commercial lease. Filing may also be necessary to protect a person’s or entity’s interest in an oil and gas lease, or in the oil and gas beneath a property.
However, your lawyer must file a notice of appeal within 30 days after the judgment is final. Failure to appeal within 30 days terminates your right to appeal, regardless of how strong your case may be.
A lien allows the lender to take property, sell it at auction, and apply the proceeds to a loan balance. The lien stays on the property until the debt gets paid. If you have a secured debt —a debt where the creditor has a lien on your property—bankruptcy can eliminate your obligation to pay the debt.
Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy will stop a foreclosure and force the lender to accept a plan that will allow you to make up the missed payments over time. To make this plan work, you must demonstrate that you have enough income to pay back payments and remain current on future payments.
What Bankruptcy Can Do. Bankruptcy allows people struggling with debt to wipe out certain obligations and get a fresh start. The two primary bankruptcy types filed— Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy— each offer different benefits and, in some cases, treat debt and property differently, too.
If you file for Chapter 13 rather than Chapter 7, you'll likely have to pay back some portion of your unsecured debts through a three- to five-year repayment plan. However, any unsecured debt balance that remains after completing your repayment plan will be discharged.
If you can't bring the account current, you'll lose the house or car once the stay lifts. By contrast, Chapter 13 has a mechanism that will allow you to catch up on past payments so you can keep the asset. Find out more about bankruptcy's automatic stay and foreclosure and car repossession and bankruptcy.
This chapter takes an average of three to four months to complete. Learn more about erasing your debt in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Once you file, the court puts in place an order called the automatic stay. The stay stops most creditor calls, wage garnishments, and lawsuits, but not all. For instance, creditors can still collect support payments, and criminal cases will continue to proceed forward.
If you aren't sure about something, contact your attorney for guidance. There are also some things you should avoid doing. If you find you've already done some of the things to avoid, let your attorney know right away. If you try to undo your actions, you could actually make the situation worse.
DO NOT finance a new vehicle just before filing your case. If you do finance a car, it can mean a delay in filing your case. Speak with your attorney prior to doing this. DO NOT use your credit cards or acquire new debt. Unplanned medical debt may be an exception, as you may not have a choice about incurring the debt.
Your attorney may also ask for copies of bills and collection letters, as well. DO consider opening a new bank account, especially if you do your banking somewhere that you owe money. The bank may close your account when you file bankruptcy, so it's a good idea to already have a new bank account set up when you file.
DO NOT withdraw funds from your retirement accounts to repay debts without discussing this with your attorney. This is almost always a bad idea. DO NOT transfer any assets (real estate, car, money, or anything of value) to family or friends, without first contacting your attorney.
Every state has an agency responsible for licensing and disciplining lawyers. In most states, it's the bar association; in others, the state supreme court. The agency is most likely to take action if your lawyer has failed to pay you money that you won in a settlement or lawsuit, made some egregious error such as failing to show up in court, didn't do legal work you paid for, committed a crime, or has a drug or alcohol abuse problem.
If that doesn't work, as a last resort you may need to sue your lawyer in small claims court, asking the court for money to compensate you for what you've spent on redoing work in the file or trying to get the file.
If you lost money because of the way your lawyer handled your case, consider suing for malpractice. Know, however, that it is not an easy task. You must prove two things:
A common defense raised by attorneys sued for malpractice is that the client waited too long to sue. And because this area of the law can be surprisingly complicated and confusing, there's often plenty of room for argument. Legal malpractice cases are expensive to pursue, so do some investigating before you dive in.
If the lawyer is unresponsive and the matter involves a lawsuit, go to the courthouse and look at your case file, which contains all the papers that have actually been filed with the court. If you've hired a new lawyer, ask her for help in getting your file. Also, ask your state bar association for assistance.
If you can't find out what has (and has not) been done, you need to get hold of your file. You can read it in your lawyer's office or ask your lawyer to send you copies of everything -- all correspondence and everything filed with the court or recorded with a government agency.
A lawyer who doesn't return phone calls or communicate with you for an extended period of time may be guilty of abandoning you -- a violation of attorneys' ethical obligations. But that's for a bar association to determine (if you register a complaint), and it won't do you much good in the short term.
I would be more direct - ask the attorney for your money back, you never know, some attorneys will refund fees if a client is dissatisfied and then use the money to hire a new attorney. Otherwise, in a situation like this, you should get a new attorney in any event.
Your question doesn't really specify what the attorney did/failed to do for your boyfriend. His is a fairly common situation. People end up having children they didn't know about and have to pay back support on them. Your boyfriend didn't have a lot of options for his lawyer to work with. What has happened is not far from the norm.
If you can't afford to pay a bankruptcy attorney right away, you might consider: asking friends and family. getting help from a legal aid society or other free legal clinics in your area. finding an attorney who will take your case pro bono (free of charge), or. filing your case without an attorney.
Your attorney won't file a Chapter 7 case until you've paid in full. Why? Because the bankruptcy would wipe out the fees still owed to your attorney. A debtor who doesn't have the fee will often start by asking friends and family for help.
COVID-19 Update: Bankruptcy courts will hold 341 creditor meetings telephonically or by video appearance until 60 days after the termination of the President's COVID-19 National Emergency Proclamation. For details, visit the U.S. Trustee's 341 meeting status webpage or your court's website. If you're one of the many struggling with debt due ...
And many bankruptcy attorneys cut fees drastically for clients who qualify for a bankruptcy fee waiver.
It isn't as challenging to finance a Chapter 13 case. Many attorneys will take a downpayment upfront. The remaining amount gets paid in your repayment plan, thereby allowing you to pay a small part of your legal fees each month. Find out more about how bankruptcy lawyers get paid.
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But it isn't always a good idea to go it your own, either. Whether it would be in your best interest to hire a lawyer typically depends on: whether you are filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. the level of complexity. whether you can afford an attorney, and.