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Cost, you get what you pay for so know what you are getting.

Unfortunately, you probably will not know what to expect from a Bankruptcy Attorney until you have completed your bankruptcy, and then it may be too late.  Fortunately, most attorneys who practice bankruptcy are professional, courteous and genuinely concerned about the client. 

"Court statistics show that a self-represented debtor is almost eight times more likely to have his or her Chapter 7 case dismissed than a debtor represented by counsel. "

30% of people filing bankruptcy do not use an attorney. Is this a good idea? Click here to see the Federal Court report on self-filers.

Bankruptcy, the 13 step process or why does it cost so much?

1.      Initial consultation; the attorney should be asking you a lot questions about your financial circumstance.   This may be the first phone call to your attorney.

2.       First meeting; your attorney should meet with you to explain the law of bankruptcy; in fact, the bankruptcy code requires that the attorney give you specific information at the beginning of the case.  By Federal Law you will need to sign a retainer agreement to proceed.

3.       Factual Interview, your attorney should gather facts through a structured interview.   He may do this at the first meeting. You will probably not  be able to answer everything in the first interview and you should anticipate an exhaustive  checklist of items you will need for the second meeting

4.       Second Meeting; you will give your attorney the documentation he requested and the attorney will provide you with your present credit report history, that you will verify.

5.       Bankruptcy tactics and strategies; from the initial consultation the attorney has been building an unique bankruptcy plan for you.  Based upon your information, your attorney will advise you on your unique plan.

6.       Bankruptcy case and petition preparation.  Your attorney will build your case based upon your information.  By this time your attorney has gotten to know you and your financial circumstances.

7.       Filing;  all filings in Federal Court are done electronically, by your attorney in person.  Filing a bankruptcy petition creates a “bankruptcy estate” and the court will assign a Trustee to administer this bankruptcy estate.  

8.       Meeting with the Trustee, about 30 days after you file you will meet with the Trustee assigned to administer your bankruptcy estate.  Your attorney should be at that meeting with you. 

9.       Post Petition issues; in most cases your attorney’s work is complete after the Trustee meeting. However, questions may come up in the trustee meeting that your attorney will need to respond to.

10.   Filing additional documents.  Although your Attorney’s work is generally complete at the trustee meeting, the trustee may ask for additional information. 

11.   You are also required to file certification that you have completed the second and post petition Financial Management Course.  Generally your Attorney takes care of this for you.

12.   Reaffirmation agreements, your secured lenders (car loans) will probably ask for a reaffirmation agreement if you want to keep your car(s).  Your attorney will explain this to you, guide you through the process and submit the agreement to the lender for you.  Some attorneys DO NOT do this, you should ask up front.

13.   You should always meet with and communicate with the attorney.  The attorney may use his office staff for routine data entry, etc., but you are hiring an attorney.  The attorney works for you.   Please notice that there are two words that appear in each of the first 12 points; “your attorney”.  It is not the paralegal, not the legal assistant, not some offshore document preparation service, IT IS THE ATTORNEY WHO SHOULD MEET WITH YOU, PREPARE YOUR CASE AND FOLLOW UP WITH THE TRUSTEE.

Attorney Larry Webb  805 987 1400

The following notice is required by the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of 11 U.S.C. 101(12A): The Law Offices of Larry Webb is a Debt Relief Agency as defined by 11 U.S.C. 101(12A) of the Bankruptcy Code.  We help people file for relief under the Bankruptcy code.