@Anonymous wrote:How you select your lawyer comes down to who you trust or feel will take care of your case in the best manner. There are arguments for and against a lawyer who works as a trustee in one case and for the debtor in another. If that makes you feel uncomfortable, you should have other choices available in your area. I would suggest looking for reviews on your final picks for lawyers. In the end, you need to choose the person that represents YOU and your case based on their experience (or lack of) with the type of BK you need plus takes the time to answer your questions.
However, at some point, you need to just choose as based on your previous comments, you can't let your anxiety paralyzed you in this important decision and slow down your progress. Your anxiety WILL calm down the closer you are to receiving resolution.
Looks like im going to be able to do a 7....if that fails, then i would be put into a 36 month payment plan in a 13....according to the attorney that i'm favoring at this point.
Well, 5 attorneys, 6 consultations....and a 6th attorney appointment on Friday. I still can't believe the varying opinions on some things.
Some of the attorneys tell me to pay some of the recent cash advances back.....The money is still sitting in the bank waiting to pay bills/creditors, and to keep all my accts in good standing.
Some say stop paying everything now.
Some say i'll be stuck with a tax bill in 7....the attorney im seeing friday says maybe not. His law firm is arguably the best in my large-ish, professional sports teams of a city. He is also a trustee.
Some say unemployment benefits won't be used in my 7....He said he 'lists' it, but doesn't include it in his median calculations and was never asked to in over 30 yrs. But, the attorney i'm seeing friday says that unempl benefits are included but he can sometimes negotiate that only 1/2 of the unempl benefit amount is used in median income calculations.
The attorney that i'm favoring now says, 90 days is pretty much mandatory to wait to file after cash advances. The premier attorney that i'm seeing friday says he's not concerned with cash advances whatsoever. Cash advances have no relevance to him and/or in his experiences, which are many.
Anyway, i feel like going for a 7 is the way to go. And if the 7 fails, the idea of going into a 36 mo/ch.13 payment plan, sounds better than a 0 mo plan.
Thoughts?
I felt much better today after my 6th consultation...Blood pressure was cookin' earlier today...155/100. 
Well, is a $4000 attorney fee for a Ch. 7 filing, an indication that i'm getting a top level attorney? Im guessing his Ch. 13 fee would be $8000.
This attorney focused on Ch. 7 almost exclusively. I asked him about the 'what if' and the 'what about this' concerns that i and some of the other attorneys i met with had, and he would flat out say, 'not an issue'.
I would ask questions about the Ch. 13....and he would just tell me to solely look at the 7 and prepare accordingly.
With the huge amount of debt i have, it's obvious to him apparently, that he wants to make it all go away.
I did feel the most 'assured' with this attorney. He told me to make an appointment early June, and bring in the latest bills, 6 mos paystubs, 401k statement, titles/memorandums to vehicles, 2 yrs tax returns, and $4000. That's it...for now i guess.
All the other attorneys gave me packets of paperwork to fill out....assets lists, 50 item questionnaire about gifts, transfer of property, storage units, social media, do friends know of my financial issues, blood type, etc etc.
This attorney told me to sell what i wanted to pay the tax bill, or for living expenses, etc....Others said don't sell/transfer ownership of anything?
So many differing opinions/advice on this. 6 attorneys, 2 are trustees. And they all specialize in BK only or maybe 80% BK, 20% estate planning types.
The more attorneys i see, the more difficult it is to pick one.
RIght now, it's between an attorney that says go straight for the ch. 13/36 mo plan. Even though i'm below the median income test for ch. 7, he feels i will not pass the means test and will be put into a ch 13/36 plan.
The other frontrunner says go straight for ch. 7. He was very confident, no hesitation, no quivering of his own opinions, etc.
I felt most assured by this attorney......BUT would i rather have a ch. 13/36 mo plan, is my question to me.