Personal Bankruptcy Chapter 13 Filed 2 Years Ago, No Confirmation Hearing Yet, Attorney Non-Responsive

[wtemple87r]

My wife and I filed for Chapter 13 August 2009. Our case has yet to go through to the confirmation hearing, so we are in limbo even though we have been making payments all along. The reason the case has dragged on for so long, we think, is due to our attorney, as well is due to two of the creditors out of two dozen or so that are objecting.

The problem is this: I have not spoken to my attorney in over a year. He has not once in the two years returned a single phone call. We fax him to please let us know what is going on, and we e-mail him. He has not once ever responded to either e-mail or fax. My wife finally resorted to showing up at his office unanounced, and after the fifth time got in to see him. This attorney basically did not give her any direct answers, and smuggly stated that he has more important clients to spend his time on (I gave him $3,000 up front to file the case). He also stated that in Chapter 13 we are not allowed to switch attorneys.

That leaves us in a black hole. We are so frustrated that we have, as of last month, stopped making payments to the trustee, as we have gotten hints that the trustee is trying to get the payments doubled before he will approve and reccommend to the judge to confirm, and we absolutely cannot afford that.

We need advice on this Chapter 13 matter, and a new attorney. I also need advice on how to file a complaint against our present attorney.

 

[despritfreya]

Post this at www.bkforum.com

There are many members of bkforum who are from Florida and know what is going on in your state.

As a long time bk attny I am appauled by your attorney's conduct. Contact the State Bar Association to find out how to file a complaint. Also, it sounds like you need to shop around for a new one. And, by the way, of course you can fire your attorney and hire a new one. You just have to find one willing to step into a 2 year old case.

Des.

 

[prioritymarine]

Thank you for your reply. I have found via this site that there is a local chapter of the Florida Bar Accociation in our home town of Clearwater, which we will make contact with.

Bankruptcy is a very scary thing for us and one which I never evr imagined that I would be in. Finding a good lawyer is yet another one, and having made the wrong choice two years ago only complicates that. There are situations that have occurred over the past three years that I hope were not worsened or complicated by bad decisions that we made or bad advice that we received from our attorney.

Thank you.

My wife and I felt 8 weeks ago that we had to stop making the payments to the trustee, and regroup. I hope that decision does not cause our situation to have spiralled out of control, we will see. For one, we don't have any idea what the court system does with the $18,000 that we have already sent in, if in fact they go through with the judges order to dismiss our case.

Thank you for your reply. We will just have to take this one day at a time and continue forward.

 

[despritfreya]

Bankruptcy is a very scary thing for us. . . We will just have to take this one day at a time and continue forward.

This is why bkforum.com is so good. It is a vast network of support so that you do not feel alone, because you are not.

Des.