Lawyers should not be allowed to get near accounting books.

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Russianwolf

Russianwolf

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Joined
Jul 13, 2007
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Location
Martinsburg, WV, USA.
As many of you know I have been in a 100% chapter 13 bankruptcy for the past 6 years due to me deciding to pay my wife's medical bills as a priority. Means all debtors get 100% of their claim, they just have to be patient (no one gets left out).

It's supposed to be only 5 year tops but I was laid off early on so they had to push it out for 4 months. But 5 years and 4 months doesn't = 6 years you say? You're right.

Every 6 months the trustee (a lawyer who manages the payments) is supposed to send a statement. I received one every 8 months or so. I actually read them. Early on I found a mistake and forced them to admit and correct. Later they tried to change the payment amount for no reason, I made them admit the error and correct it.

So my calculation were that it should be finished in October of 2012. October comes and goes. I ask my attorney, "be patient, it can take 60-90 days" they say. November, December, beginning of January. I ask again. nothing we can do to speed them up? No. February. March. I get a statement. Statement isn't complete, There's $14k unaccounted for, and it says that I still owe another $30k.

So I send my attorney and email. State that I want a complete statement before the end of the Month, and explanations of why their records don't match mine and why I still owe $30k, and where is the missing $14k. AND if I don't have it by the end of the month I want a court appearance with them and the judge.

Attorney speaks with them. Asks me is the first week of April is okay? okay, but not a second more.

received the response from the Trustee today. I've overpaid by more than $9k now and they would like to close the case immediately if I have no objections.

ABOUT FREAKIN' TIME

I really feel sorry for those that don't have the skills to double check these guys.
 
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I assume you get a check back on that.......

Congrats on settling up. Many would not have taken the high road and guaranteed 100% payback. Says a lot about your own character and moral values. Good Man!!
 
Congrats for keeping good records and standing up to them. Many people would have just kept paying.
 
Mike,

As an accountant, I agree 100% with your opening statement that lawyers should not be allowed near accounting books.

Congrats on navigating Chapter 13. Show a lot of deligence and personal character.
 
Lawyers are humans too. the problem is most do not want to admit they made a mistake, or they want to charge you for their mistakes. Good job keeping track of them. Glad to hear it is paid off.
 
Good for you! And, good for you for paying all your debts too, that is a rare dose of honesty and responsibilty shown by few in todays world. You have certainly earned my respect.
 
Congrats Mike

I admire the facts that you lived up to your obligations and held the lawyers feet to the fire when they decided they did not need too.

It shows respect and the demand for respect in return. Respect is something that schools, lawyers and pols gave up the understanding for a long time ago, We are paying the price now. I am so glad to have you in my world.

Alan
 
Mike, I applaud you.

And I take your experience as a word of warning for what I might expect later this year. One thing I haven't shared in these forums (but heavily in Dave Ramsey's mytotalmakeover.com forums) the fact I've been working my own way through Chapter 13 bankruptcy. I won't get into the lengthy story of the stupid stuff I did that ultimately led to that choice, but suffice it to say there's been a lot of changes in my life since 2007, when I realized I had a problem and needed to figure out how to deal with it. I fought til Sept 2010 when it was evident wage garnishments was around the corner and Chapter 13 was the only avenue that offered me the chance of maintaining some integrity and repaying the debts I owed, even though friends and even my lawyer advised chapter 7 and being done with it. Mine is a 3 year repayment plan with half of my tax returns and annual bonus being paid into the plan as well. In the end I'll have repaid what I owe minus some but not all of the the 30% interest all CC companies were charging by the time of defaulting.

My own experience "should" be ending this September/October, so I'm now a little anxious having read your experience. But I haven't really had any bad experiences since I started my own repayment plan so I'm hopeful it will end uneventfully as well.

Thankfully, pen turning has been a great distraction and stress reliever through the journey. And thankfully it's been pretty much self-supporting, as well funding some growth, or it would have had to stop for a while.

I'm glad your story ended well and draw some comfort knowing I'm not the only one here that's walked this path.
 
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