Looking for some legalish advice.

[Punisher]

First off, I acknowledge that anything said in this thread does not count as actual legal advice.
I'm looking for some opinions.

I started bankruptcy in 2014. Through various issues, most due to ly attorney not properly doung his job, it still hasn't been finalized.
Apparently it came close one time because I got a surprise letter from the court that it had been canceled. Apparently he filed it even th9ugh we never went to court and I was supposed to start my payments. I had no idea about this because I thought I wouldn't have to pay until the judge said yes. Otherwise how do they determine the pay schedule and what happens to my money I send in if the court says no when we go? If I'm filing for bankruptcy I definitely can't throw money away.
In any case, nobody actually told me about this. All court papers were going to my attorney and he never told me to start making payments so I had no idea I had to. If I had been told then I would have asked him my questions and paid if i was supposed to.
He started the re-opening but kept delaying everything and didn't followup. Then Covid hit and delayed everything more.
I already paid him in full. Somewhere between 2k and 3k.
I just found out that he died 2 weeks ago.
A new lawyer is taking care of his business stuff. She will take over my wifes workers comp case but she doesn't handle bankruptcy.
She is also not aware of my bankruptcy but she just got this handed to her a few days ago and is still gathering his info. Apparently he wasn't very organized which is not a surprise.

My questions.
1. If she finds the paperwork what are my chances of getting it handed to attorney for the funds I already paid him? Since my money situation gas gotten worse I can't afford the cost of bankruptcy anymore.
2. What are the chances of getting my money to use it at another attorney?
3. If she can't find the paperwork am I basically SOL?

Any info is appreciated.

[Holman]

IANAL, so all I can say is Good Luck!

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, that's a bit of a mess. Hopefully one of the IAALs can chime in.

[Jaymann]

Is throw yourself on the mercy of the court an option?

[Scuzz]

I would say you start with her. Have a good sit down with her and explain everything you have said to us.

[Punisher]

I would say you start with her. Have a good sit down with her and explain everything you have said to us.

We did this past weekend. Mostly to talk about my wifes worker's comp case.
Bullet points
.she doesn't do bankruptcy and has no idea how they work.
. She still doesn't have access to any of his files. Coincidentally shes in the same boat. All her files are organized for her but if all her cases were handed off to another attorney they'd be in a mess. This has her mow thinking about sorting her office too. Apparently this is normal for attorneys.
. If the money we paid was a retainer gor billable hours it should be in a trust. However, ours was paid in full for a flat fee in which case it's probably gone. If she can find proof of our payments, she might be able to get our money bavk but that can't even begin to happen until they get access to his computers.
Side note. I offered to at least get into Windows for her and brought a Hirens flash drive (I only vaguely remembered it and had to google what it was and where to get it.) I "think" once I'm in I can figure out how to change or remove the windows password. Unfortunately she wasn't able to get the computers in time but she is going to have her IT department look into it. I left the offer open but I'm guessing that any IT department worth their salt can do it.

So we are in a holding pattern for now but are aware that it's a good possibility that theoney is gone which really sucks.

[Zarathud]

Assume the money is gone and you are on a timer to clean up with the court and file a claim against the dead lawyer. Speak with someone else with a new retainer.

She said she doesn’t do bankruptcy, so you are left hanging if anything was filed. It’s probably dismissed but someone in that field can check easily. She’s trying to find billable value in what’s left of his client files. Not to clean up his IT mess.

[Punisher]

She is also goingbto look into anything she can find on the existing case and get back to me.
If the money is hone then the bankruptcy is dead in the wayer for a while while I try to save up for it.

[Smoove_B]

Sounds like maybe the best move is to hire someone ASAP because you know this woman has temporary (?) access to his stuff - she's the person for your new lawyer to contact and try to get what they need from her directly.

[Scraper]

There are a ton of issues to unpack here:

1.Attorney compensation for chapter 13 bankruptcy is capped by law. 10 years ago it was capped at $3000.00 per case. So you paid the highest amount you could. Also, you could have paid most of your attorney's fees through the bankruptcy payments themselves, so to pay 100% up front reeks of shady lawyering.

2. If I were you I would immediately contact a malpractice attorney and at the same time file a complaint with your state bar association. Most states have funds that help pay back attorney fees that were wrongly taken by an attorney.

3. Contractually most debts are uncollectible after 10 years of the debtor not trying to collect. You might be right in that timeline for a lot of your dischargeable debts. There are a ton of variables involved but it is something to look at.

4. A decent bankruptcy attorney will have your case filed and the payment plan in place within 6 months of your first visit. All courts are different, but for the most part if you do your job and supply the info they need in a timely manner it should rarely take longer than that for your Chapter 13 plan to be approved and for the payments to start. Once the Trustee is appointed, it's their job to make sure your payments are accurate and the debts get paid, so they want to get it started as soon as possible.

[Carpet_pissr]

WRT 1. above, are you SURE he's dead, or just "moved to Turks and Caicos under a different name" dead?

[Scraper]

One other thing to consider is that in most states the statute of limitations to file a legal malpractice claim is 1 year. So time is ticking.

[Punisher]

There are a ton of issues to unpack here:

1.Attorney compensation for chapter 13 bankruptcy is capped by law. 10 years ago it was capped at $3000.00 per case. So you paid the highest amount you could. Also, you could have paid most of your attorney's fees through the bankruptcy payments themselves, so to pay 100% up front reeks of shady lawyering.

2. If I were you I would immediately contact a malpractice attorney and at the same time file a complaint with your state bar association. Most states have funds that help pay back attorney fees that were wrongly taken by an attorney.

3. Contractually most debts are uncollectible after 10 years of the debtor not trying to collect. You might be right in that timeline for a lot of your dischargeable debts. There are a ton of variables involved but it is something to look at.

4. A decent bankruptcy attorney will have your case filed and the payment plan in place within 6 months of your first visit. All courts are different, but for the most part if you do your job and supply the info they need in a timely manner it should rarely take longer than that for your Chapter 13 plan to be approved and for the payments to start. Once the Trustee is appointed, it's their job to make sure your payments are accurate and the debts get paid, so they want to get it started as soon as possible.

1. He definitely never offered an option to pay with the payments. He did say the fees were capped.
We were also told that we couldn't pay him via check and had to get a money order. He had done a lot for me and my friends over the years so we trusted him.

2. Unfortunately I am worse financially then back then. Back then I was working but some life changes cut our funds and our credit was over extended. Now i have no credit cards but im on a liwer fixed income so we dont have the money to hire an attorney.

3. Do you mean the debts that we were trying to go backrupt on? If so how would I find out my actual existing debts? He handled all that.

4. Yeah, once it started taking so long we started getting suspicious but we still trusted him when he gave us quick explanations especially since we had no idea how it worked.
If someone had told us that we had to start paying begore the actual bankruptcy we would have been ok. As it was our only notice was when we get the cancelation letter.

[Scraper]

There are a ton of issues to unpack here:

1.Attorney compensation for chapter 13 bankruptcy is capped by law. 10 years ago it was capped at $3000.00 per case. So you paid the highest amount you could. Also, you could have paid most of your attorney's fees through the bankruptcy payments themselves, so to pay 100% up front reeks of shady lawyering.

2. If I were you I would immediately contact a malpractice attorney and at the same time file a complaint with your state bar association. Most states have funds that help pay back attorney fees that were wrongly taken by an attorney.

3. Contractually most debts are uncollectible after 10 years of the debtor not trying to collect. You might be right in that timeline for a lot of your dischargeable debts. There are a ton of variables involved but it is something to look at.

4. A decent bankruptcy attorney will have your case filed and the payment plan in place within 6 months of your first visit. All courts are different, but for the most part if you do your job and supply the info they need in a timely manner it should rarely take longer than that for your Chapter 13 plan to be approved and for the payments to start. Once the Trustee is appointed, it's their job to make sure your payments are accurate and the debts get paid, so they want to get it started as soon as possible.

1. He definitely never offered an option to pay with the payments. He did say the fees were capped.
We were also told that we couldn't pay him via check and had to get a money order. He had done a lot for me and my friends over the years so we trusted him.

2. Unfortunately I am worse financially then back then. Back then I was working but some life changes cut our funds and our credit was over extended. Now i have no credit cards but im on a liwer fixed income so we dont have the money to hire an attorney.

3. Do you mean the debts that we were trying to go backrupt on? If so how would I find out my actual existing debts? He handled all that.

4. Yeah, once it started taking so long we started getting suspicious but we still trusted him when he gave us quick explanations especially since we had no idea how it worked.
If someone had told us that we had to start paying begore the actual bankruptcy we would have been ok. As it was our only notice was when we get the cancelation letter.

I'll address some of the points:

2. It won't cost anything to file a bar complaint and see if there is a way to get your $3K back from the state's IOLTA abuse funds.

3. Yes I do mean the debts you were trying to bankrupt. You can go to the FTC's website and find info on obtaining free credit reports https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/free-credit-reports .

4. You don't pay into your bankruptcy until the Trustee approves your repayment plan, again this usually takes around 6 month from your first visit. Either way you would go to what's called a 341 debtor's exam and meet the trustee and have them ask questions about your case, after that the payments usually start.

[Scraper]

I suppose I should also add that most people in severe debt don't need a chapter 13, most of them can get away with filing chapter 7. There are a lot of differences, but 7 is by far the better option if you qualify and you don't have significant assets.

[Punisher]

Regarding #4 that definitely never happened and i was still canceled for non payment. Thats why i never knew about the payments. My lawyer said that you have to pay forst before that meeting to see if you can make the payments which didnt make sense as how could there be payments if an amount wasn't approved. Either they definitely canceled the bankruptcy for nonpayment.

As for reimbursement since it was 10 years ago we gave no idea where our money order receipt is. Is that gonna be a problem? It's one of the reasons we are waiting for the current lawyer to get full access to the old laeyers records and hope that he at leadt documented everytjing.

[Scraper]

I have no idea what your state bar will need for proof of payment. The best I can say is contact them and see.

[Punisher]

I have no idea what your state bar will need for proof of payment. The best I can say is contact them and see.

Will doing so impact the current lawyer at all? I really dont want to get her in trouble. Mostly thinking because she has had time to look at stuff yet and dont want them to think she isnt trying to help.

[Punisher]

Didn't realize that I had a Credit Karma account.
Anyone know how accurate they are?
For both Equifax and Transunion they are only showing 1 bill in collections under $700 and the last remaining credit cards I have, 2 of which are almost paid off and the other I'm still paying monthly.
Haven't check my wifes yet because I need her phone for verification.

[gilraen]

Didn't realize that I had a Credit Karma account.
Anyone know how accurate they are?

100% accurate, they get their information directly from the credit bureaus (just don't confuse the Vantage score that they show you with the FICO score, not the same thing).

[Punisher]

It's under their credit section and I have to pick between 2 services Equifax and Transunion. Both show the same collections.
If so, I guess that even though the bankruptcy was canceled the last time everyone gave up anyway.
Or the time ran out.
Either way, I may not even need bankruptcy anymore so maybe I'll get lucky and they'll find the receipts and show how long the attorney delayed everything and just give us our money back.
If so, it will be enough to pay all my collections and my wifes. (Although my wifes is medical and related to an open workers comp case but thats a whole other thing I think the old attorney screwed up)

[Punisher]

Another question.
It just says collections.
It doesn't break down who and how much.
Any way to find out in case I can make some sort of payments?

[Punisher]

A second new question.
I just got a call from a debt collector for my wife. They said that there is multiple outstanding debts.
It sounds like thousands of dollars from various things.
I double-checked my wifes credit karma.
The only thing listed is that medical debt.
They are going to send me their letters but I already told them I can't pay unless they take $5/month (which apparently they do).
Is it possible to have debt from collections without them being on the report?
She said it was old debt not new.

[TheMix]

Some basic "rules":

1) Don't agree to anything on the phone
2) Don't tell them anything on the phone
3) Get everything in writing
Because
4) They lie. They lie. They lie. They lie.

Tell them that if they have a debt to discuss, they need to send you the details in writing. That's it. Nothing else.

It's entirely possible the debt is for someone else. They don't do their due diligence. They just want to find someone to pay. Could be someone with a similar name. Or maybe someone lived at one of your old addresses.

Don't ever agree to anything over the phone. And don't give them any details they don't already have.

[Punisher]

Thanks. A little late for some of that but good to know for next time.
They already had my address and I did tell them to mail me everything.
I did tell them I was on a fixed income and that I don't recall having a home depot credit card.
Worst case, I send them $5/month I guess.

[gilraen]

They are going to send me their letters but I already told them I can't pay unless they take $5/month (which apparently they do).

Of course they do. Because the debt may be outside the statute of limitations. But the moment you send a single dollar, the clock is reset, and old debt becomes new again.

[Punisher]

They are going to send me their letters but I already told them I can't pay unless they take $5/month (which apparently they do).

Of course they do. Because the debt may be outside the statute of limitations. But the moment you send a single dollar, the clock is reset, and old debt becomes new again.

You know, I mentioned that and she sounded confused.
Hopefully it doesn't reset by getting a letter.
Any idea how I would gind out if they are past the statute of limitations?

[Alefroth]

It should be clear when they send you the details of the debt.

[Kraken]

Medical debt under $500 doesn't affect your credit score unless and until it goes to collection. You have 1 year to address medical debt over $500 before it shows up on credit reports. IDK if this is relevant, but these rules took effect last summer.

[Punisher]

It should be clear when they send you the details of the debt.

Possibly, but collections on the report says something lije $600. The lasy spoke like it was thousands.

[Punisher]

It should be clear when they send you the details of the debt.

Possibly, but collections on the report says something lije $600. The lasy spoke like it was thousands.

Correction.
The collection lady was for my wife. The only collections on her credit report is for a medical bill.
Totally forgot they are saying it's for home depot and others.

[Blackhawk]

Some basic "rules":

1) Don't agree to anything on the phone
2) Don't tell them anything on the phone
3) Get everything in writing
Because
4) They lie. They lie. They lie. They lie.

Tell them that if they have a debt to discuss, they need to send you the details in writing. That's it. Nothing else.

It's entirely possible the debt is for someone else. They don't do their due diligence. They just want to find someone to pay. Could be someone with a similar name. Or maybe someone lived at one of your old addresses.

Don't ever agree to anything over the phone. And don't give them any details they don't already have.

Oh, so very much this. I haven't had any overdue/unpaid debt in about 15 years (most of it happened prior to my divorce when Michelle was handling the finances, and I didn't realize how badly.) But prior to that it was something that I had to deal with from time to time. I had to close a bank account once because I accepted a payment agreement over the phone that the company then decided to reinterpret according to their whims, even when I specifically told them to stop, and they continued to collect even after the debt was paid off. But since everything had been handled by phone, it was my word against theirs. From that point on, any debtor who called me was just told that I only handle such matters in writing. Very few bothered to even follow up.

Don't even accept that you owe anything. Just tell them that if they feel you owe something, they need to contact you in writing, and to include information on the original debtor. Then hang up.

For one thing, that 3/6 year statute of limitations on debt after which it supposedly disappears? Making a payment, agreeing to pay, and even admitting that it's your debt can cause that timer to reset to day one.

[Punisher]

If its 3 or 6 years for the limit then its definitely past that. Id say at least 8 to 10 years.

[Blackhawk]

If its 3 or 6 years for the limit then its definitely past that. Id say at least 8 to 10 years.

From what I recall, it depends on the type of debt and on the state.

[Punisher]

Any idea what kind of google search words i can use to look it up for nj?

[Isgrimnur]

[TheMix]

Apparently the appropriate word to use to get info on anything around here is "Issie".

Not sure if you have to say it three times though. I'm pretty sure once is plenty. And often that's not even required.

[TheMix]

Also, this is excellent advice:

Don't even accept that you owe anything. Just tell them that if they feel you owe something, they need to contact you in writing, and to include information on the original debtor. Then hang up.

I had forgotten that part. Don't admit to anything. Not on the phone. Even if you know exactly what it is for.

[Isgrimnur]

Apparently the appropriate word to use to get info on anything around here is "Issie".

Not sure if you have to say it three times though. I'm pretty sure once is plenty. And often that's not even required.

[Punisher]

Apparently the appropriate word to use to get info on anything around here is "Issie".

Not sure if you have to say it three times though. I'm pretty sure once is plenty. And often that's not even required.

I wonder if I can program my Alexa devices to answer to Issie?