Utah 13 Agreement - RBW Esquire, LLC | Weekes Law

Utah Chapter 13 Agreement

Step 1 of 3

Re: Chapter 13 Retainer Agreement (“Agreement”)
Thanks for choosing Weekes Law Office, PC (the “Firm”) to assist you. This Agreement sets forth our responsibilities to each other and should help us avoid any misunderstanding.
Client Name(s)*
Prepetition Amount*
How will you be filing?*
1. Our Legal Services. We will provide legal services for the filing of Your bankruptcy Petition for the purpose obtaining a discharge (“Services”). Services are: (a) an initial consultation with an attorney; (b) Analysis of Your financial situation and exemption planning; (c) verification of representation with creditors; (d) reviewing the questionnaires and documents provided by You in anticipation of preparing your case; (e) preparation and filing of Your Petition, schedules, statement of affairs, and plan; (f) representing You at the 341 meeting of creditors (“341 Meeting”) and Chapter 13 Plan confirmation hearing; (g) responding to court and/or trustee directives; (h) reviewing and objecting to proofs of claim filed with the Court in connection with Your case; and (h) filing a certificate of completion upon completion of Your Plan payments.
2. What We Need From You. You agree that: (a) All information that you are required to provide with a petition and thereafter during a case under this title must be complete, accurate and truthful (b) provide You agree that: (a) All information that You are required to provide with a petition and thereafter during a case under this title must be complete, accurate and truthful; (b) provide all helpful or necessary documentation to support Your Client Profile, Petition, Statements, Schedules and Plan; (c) timely comply with any and all trustee directives; (d) completely and accurately disclose ALL of Your assets and liabilities along with the replacement value thereof; (e) completely and accurately provide Your current monthly income and disposable income; and (f) completely and accurately disclose ALL transfers of any property interest within the four years immediately before filing.
3. Legal Fees For Our Services. The amount due to the Firm for Services, which is due prior to filing your Petition is the Prepetition Amount set forth above (“Fee”). Fees received will be applied to the work performed, including without limitation consultation, exemption planning, administrative tasks, creditor representation verification, and costs and will not be refunded. All Fees are earned upon receipt of payment for services rendered and will be deposited into the Firm’s operating account, whether or not a bankruptcy case is filed. The remaining amount of the chapter 13 fees and any additional cost will generally be paid to the Firm by Your chapter 13 trustee from Your chapter 13 plan payments. You agree that reasonable compensation for the Services described herein is the Court adopted “no look fee” amount or hourly billing at the Firm’s then prevailing hourly rates, whichever is higher. The Firm’s current hourly rate for attorneys ranges from $175-$300 and office staff rates range from $75 - $125 per hour. The Firm shall be entitled to any and all fees awarded by the Bankruptcy Court. You understand and agree that if the chapter 13 case is dismissed or converted to a chapter 7 prior to payment of the attorney’s fee in full, You irrevocably assign any refund or excess funds held by the trustee to the Firm to be applied to any unpaid fees and that You are responsible for any amount charged hereunder not paid through the Plan. You authorize the Firm to negotiate and cash any refund from the Trustee.
4. Fees For Additional Legal Services. In the event You need additional legal services (“Additional Legal Services”) that exceed the scope described above (Paragraph 1), including motions to extend time, motion to continue 341 or meeting or confirmation hearing, motion to modify the plan, adversary proceedings or other contested matters, or we incur additional cost associated with Additional Legal Services, an additional is required. The Firm will provide Additional Legal Services at the Firm’s prevailing hourly rates and may seek compensation from the plan payment before seeking payment from You. You are responsible for any amounts not paid through the Plan.
5. Disclaimer and Acknowledgement. The Firm disclaims any responsibility for inaccurate or incomplete personal or financial information. You acknowledge: (a) that the Firm has not made representations or warranties regarding the outcome of Your matter; (b) You cannot file repeated bankruptcy petitions within a year without losing the “automatic stay”; (c) we cannot advise You to incur debt; (d) You cannot file bankruptcy in bad faith or if You have the “means” to repay Your creditors; (e) acknowledge that within three business days of initial contact with us, we provided and You understand the obligations set forth in Section “527A and 527B Disclosures”, attached as Exhibit A and incorporated by this reference in their entirety (f) Your bankruptcy case may be dismissed for failure to timely file documents, attend hearings, or meet deadlines; and (g) bankruptcy may require that You liquidate or surrender all non-exempt assets to the bankruptcy trustee; (h) bankruptcy’s automatic stay, which prevents creditors from collecting against You, does not apply until Your case if filed with the court; (i) You will be required to contribute a portion of Your tax refunds for the first three years of the Plan; (j) You have an ongoing obligation to inform the Court of any new property acquired during the term of Your chapter 13 Plan.
6. Governing Law, Jurisdiction, Venue. The laws of the State of Utah will govern this Agreement and the jurisdiction and venue for the enforcement of this Agreement shall be found exclusively in, and the parties submit to personal jurisdiction of the courts of the city of Orem, Utah County, State of Utah.
7. Documents Obtained From Client. This office does NOT ever retain paper documents from its clients. Unless required by the court in an evidentiary matter, in which case You will be informed in advance, You agree not to submit any original documents to the Firm and authorize the Firm to digitize any documents submitted and then destroy the paper form. Unless otherwise required, Your files and any documents, pleadings, correspondence, or other items contained therein, will be kept for one year after Your case has ended or representation by this office has ended, whichever occurs earlier. After that time, they will be destroyed. Within that year, You may request copies of items in the file for a cost of $50 storage retrieval and processing.
The foregoing terms and conditions are set forth to promote a clear understanding of our expectations as to Fee for Services. By signing below, the Client acknowledges and agrees that they have read, understand, and agree to all of the foregoing terms and conditions.
Dated:*
MM slash DD slash YYYY
Client Signature*
By typing your name to you electronically sign this form.
Client Email*
Spouse Signature*
By typing your name to you electronically sign this form.
Spouse Email*
Weekes Law Office, PC

/s/Russell B. Weekes
Russell B. Weekes
President

Bankruptcy Disclosured - Exhibit A
Section 527(A) Disclosure
In the event I file a bankruptcy case and retain Weekes Law, PLLC to represent me in connection with that bankruptcy case, I understand the following: 1. All information that I am required to provide with a petition and thereafter during a case under this title must be complete, accurate and truthful. 2. All of my property, whether I possess it or not, and all of my assets and all of my liabilities must be completely and accurately disclosed in the documents filed to commence the case, and I must disclose the replacement value of each asset as defined in §506 of the Bankruptcy Code in the documents I file where requested after I have made a reasonable inquiry to establish such value. 3. My current monthly income, my actual living expenses (the amounts specified in §707(b)(2)), and, in a case under Chapter 13 of this title, all of my disposable income (which will be determined in accordance with §707(b)(2)) must be fully accurately stated after I have made reasonable inquiry. 4. I understand that information I provide during my case may be audited pursuant to this title, and that failure to provide such information may result in dismissal of the case under this title or other sanction, including criminal sanctions. I acknowledge that my attorney has fully explained these obligations to me.
Section 527(b) Disclosure
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BANKRUPTCY ASSISTANCE SERVICES FROM AN ATTORNEY OR BANKRUPTCY PETITION PREPARER If you decide to seek bankruptcy relief, you can represent yourself, you can hire an attorney to represent you, or you can get help in some localities from a bankruptcy petition preparer who is not an attorney. THE LAW REQUIRES AN ATTORNEY OR BANKRUPTCY PETITION PREPARER TO GIVE YOU A WRITTEN CONTRACT SPECIFYING WHAT THE ATTORNEY OR BANKRUPTCY PETITION PREPARER WILL DO FOR YOU AND HOW MUCH IT WILL COST. Ask to the see the contract before you hire anyone. The following information helps you understand what must be done in a routine bankruptcy case to help you evaluate how much service you need. Although bankruptcy can be complex, many cases are routine. Before filing a bankruptcy case, either you or your attorney should analyze your eligibility for different forms of debt relief available under the Bankruptcy Code and which form of relief is most likely to be beneficial for you. Be sure you understand the relief you can obtain and its limitations. To file a bankruptcy case, documents called a Petition, Schedules, and Statement of Financial Affairs, as well as in some cases a Statement of Intention, need to be prepared correctly and filed with the bankruptcy court. You will have to pay a filing fee to the bankruptcy court. Once your case starts, you will have to attend the required first meeting of creditors where you may be questioned by a court official called a “trustee” and by creditors. If you choose to file a Chapter 7 case, you may be asked by a creditor to reaffirm a debt. You may want help deciding whether to do so. A creditor is not permitted to coerce you into reaffirming your debts. If you choose to file a Chapter 13 case in which you repay your creditors what you can afford over 3 to 5 years, you may also want help with preparing your Chapter 13 plan and with the confirmation hearing on your plan which will be before a bankruptcy judge. If you select another type of relief under the Bankruptcy Code other than Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, you will want to find out what should be done from someone familiar with that type of relief. Your bankruptcy case may also involve litigation. You are generally permitted to represent yourself in litigation in bankruptcy court, but only attorneys, not bankruptcy petition preparers, can give you legal advice.
I/we acknowledge that my attorney has fully explained these obligations to me.
Client Signature*
By typing your name to you electronically sign this form.
Spouse Signature*
By typing your name to you electronically sign this form.
Email
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Russell B. Weekes has over 18 years experiencing helping individuals, couples, and businesses achieve their legal goals.

Locations

491 N Bluff Street
Suite 201
St. George, Utah 84770
P: (801) 228-0251
E: info@weekes-law.com

Terms & Conditions

Users of this site agree to the Terms, Conditions & Disclaimer. Also review our Privacy Policy.

Recent News

What Happens If I don’t List a Creditor?

The Pitfalls of Joint Ownership

(c) Copyright RBW Esquire, LLC. 2021. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended to be legal advise or create an attorney-client relationship. Information, forms or documents are intended for general information only and may not be regarded as legal advice. Laws change periodically, and the contents of this site is not guaranteed to be up-to-date. It is highly recommended that you seek professional legal advice so you can understand your full rights and obligations under the law.