Questions to Ask Bankruptcy Lawyer
Questions for deciding whether to hire a particular bankruptcy lawyer and how the work would run: their experience in your court, who actually handles your file, what the fee covers, and what they need from you.
The questions
Open any question for the note
How much of your practice is bankruptcy work?
Why ask it
A general practice that files a few cases a year is different from a firm that does this daily. Neither is disqualifying on its own, but the answer sets how much of the local procedure they will already know without looking it up.
How many cases like mine have you filed in the last year?
Why ask it
Ask for a number and describe your situation in one sentence first: a homeowner, a small business, mostly medical debt, a garnishment already running. Familiarity with your shape of case matters more than total volume.
Do you file mostly one chapter, or both?
Why ask it
A firm that almost never files repayment plans may be less inclined to recommend one. You are not accusing anyone; you are checking that the recommendation you get is not a reflection of what the office is set up to do.
Which court would my case be in, and how often are you there?
Why ask it
Local practice varies: how hearings are held, what the trustees ask for, how documents are submitted. A lawyer who appears in your district regularly saves you the cost of them learning it.
Do you know the trustees likely to be assigned, and would that change how you prepare my case?
Why ask it
Trustees differ in what they scrutinise and what they want documented. An answer that describes preparing for a particular one's habits is a good sign of real local experience; a blank answer suggests the district is unfamiliar.
Will you be handling my case, or will most of the work be done by someone else in the office?
Why ask it
Paralegals doing the document work is normal and often efficient. What you need to know is who reviews it, who you speak to with a question, and whether the person you are sitting with will still be involved in three months.
Who will be with me at the trustee meeting?
Why ask it
Ask for a name. Some firms send a different attorney to hearings, and finding that out on the morning is worse than knowing now. If it will be someone else, ask when you would meet them.
What is your fee, is it flat or hourly, and what does it cover?
Why ask it
Get the boundary of the fee in writing, not just the number. Preparing and filing the case is usually included; the questions to ask are about what happens beyond that.
What is not included: which situations would cost extra, and roughly how much?
Why ask it
Creditor objections, a motion to lift the stay, an amended filing, a case that has to be converted: these are the add-ons that turn a quoted fee into a larger one. Ask how often each of them arises in cases like yours.
Can I pay in instalments, and does filing wait until the fee is paid?
Why ask it
This is a practical question with a real consequence, because a delayed filing means collection continues in the meantime. If a garnishment or a foreclosure date is looming, say so and ask how the payment plan interacts with it.
How much of the paperwork is my job, and what happens if I am slow with it?
Why ask it
Most delays in these cases are documents that never arrive. Ask for the list, the format they want, and the deadline, and be honest if getting old statements will be difficult so someone can help.
When a creditor contacts me after we file, what am I supposed to do?
Why ask it
You want a simple instruction you can follow while standing in your kitchen: what to say, where to forward the letter, whether to call the office. Firms with a clear script for this have handled the situation many times.
How do you prefer to communicate, and how quickly do you usually reply?
Why ask it
Ask for the realistic answer rather than the ideal one. Two days by email from a busy firm is fine if you know it in advance; the problem is expecting same-day replies and hearing nothing for a week.
Who covers my case if you are away or unwell?
Why ask it
Cases have fixed dates that do not move for holidays. A solo practitioner with a named colleague who covers is fine; no answer at all is a risk you should weigh.
What do you need from me before you would file, and what is a realistic filing date?
Why ask it
Ask for the date and the dependencies together. This converts a vague process into a short checklist, and it tells you whether the timing lines up with anything urgent in your situation.
Have you had cases dismissed or converted, and what usually caused it?
Why ask it
Every experienced practitioner has, so a flat denial is less reassuring than a candid answer. Listen for whether the causes were client documents, missed payments, or creditor challenges, and ask how they head each one off.
What is the most common mistake your clients make?
Why ask it
This is the cheapest advice in the meeting and it will be specific: new borrowing, missing a course, transferring something to a relative, not turning up with statements. Write the answer down and follow it.
Are you board certified or a member of a bankruptcy specialist organisation?
Why ask it
Certification is not necessary to do this well, but it is a verifiable credential you can check afterwards rather than a claim about experience. Ask what the certification required, and confirm it independently.
Has your licence ever been subject to discipline?
Why ask it
Uncomfortable to ask and entirely fair, since the record is usually public through your state bar. Most answers are no; what matters is whether the answer matches what you find when you look.
If I decide not to go ahead, what do I owe you, and what happens to my documents?
Why ask it
Ask before you hand over a file of bank statements and tax returns. You want to know whether any part of the fee is non-refundable, and how your paperwork is returned or destroyed.
Choosing who to work with
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you sit down with anyone
Speak to two or three
Consultations are commonly free or low cost. Two conversations tell you whether the advice is consistent, and if one recommends a different route from the others, ask each of them why.
Check the licence yourself
Your state bar publishes admission status and, in most cases, public discipline. It takes a few minutes and does not depend on anything you were told in the meeting.
Be wary of advertising that promises outcomes
Nobody can guarantee a discharge or a specific result before seeing your documents. Firms that lead with guarantees, or that ask for payment before anyone has looked at your paperwork, deserve more caution than others.
Know who is licensed to advise you
Document preparation services and debt relief companies are not the same as an attorney and cannot give legal advice or represent you. Ask directly whether the person you are speaking to is a licensed lawyer.
In the consultation
Bring the full picture, even the awkward parts
Debts to family, a recent transfer, income that is difficult to document. A lawyer can usually plan around a fact they know about; the same fact discovered later by a trustee is a much bigger problem.
Notice whether they ask you questions
A lawyer who spends most of the meeting asking about your income, your assets and what you are trying to protect is doing the job. One who explains chapters at you without learning your circumstances is delivering a presentation.
Ask for the fee agreement to take away
You do not need to sign in the room. Read what is included, what is billed separately, and what happens if the case has to be amended or converted.
What goes wrong in the working relationship
Choosing on price alone
A low quote that excludes the parts most likely to happen in your case is not cheaper. Compare what is covered rather than the headline figure.
Never meeting the person who will represent you
Ask early whether the attorney at the consultation will attend your hearing. If not, ask to speak to whoever will, before you sign.
Letting documents drift
Most avoidable delay and most dismissals begin with paperwork that was requested and never sent. Agree a date for each item and tell the office immediately if something cannot be obtained.
Going quiet when circumstances change
A new job, a lost job, an inheritance, a car accident settlement: all of these can change a case materially. Report them as they happen rather than at the next scheduled contact.