Price: You agree to pay the price as indicated in the invoice sent with this Retainer agreement. The retainer fee includes both professional fees and filing fees. The fee to be paid in advance covers the following basic services:
(1) counseling you in preparing:
(a) the chapter 7 petition or chapter 13 petition;
(b) the statement of financial affairs;
(c) the schedule of assets and liabilities;
(d) the schedule of current income and expenditures;
(e) a statement of intention with respect to the retention or surrender of your property which secures
any of your consumer debts and related matters;
(f) discharge hearing, if any, and any other papers, pleadings, or reports which may be required by the court;
(g) The chapter 13 plan.
(2) counseling you with respect to the exemption of particular items or types of property;
(3) attending the meeting of creditors and any other hearings which arise in the administration of this case except as stated below; and
(4) any incidental contracts or communications with the trustee and creditors.
I advised that you will be required to pay on a monthly basis for any additional or supplemental services at my hourly rate of $250/hour for attorneys and $75/hour for paralegals billing rate plus any related reimbursable expenses. Such expenses may include: Experts' fees, court costs, accountants' fees, appraisers' fees, deposition costs, service fees, messenger services, investigator fees, photocopying charges, telephone toll calls, postage and any other necessary expenses in this matter. I may require that experts be retained directly by you. You would then be solely responsible to pay the experts.
The additional or supplemental services may include:
(1) defending you against any complaint filed by the trustee or any other party in interest to deny your discharge;
(2) defending you against any complaint filed by any creditor to except its debt from discharge;
(3) defending you against any complaint filed by the trustee to avoid or to recover any transfer of property which you made before the filing of your chapter 7 petition;
(4) prosecuting any complaint which you are obligated to file for a determination that any indebtedness is dischargeable; and
(5) appealing any order of judgment which is entered against you.
(6) preparation and filing of Reaffirmation Agreement;
(7) defending you against any motion to life the automatic stay;
(8) modifying any chapter 13 confirmed plan.
I understand and accept that the Law Office of Vanessa Gonzalez-Viñas PA has “of counsel” relationships with other attorneys that may appear at hearings on her behalf with regard to my case.
You agreed that if you fail to pay my itemized invoice for any additional services within Time Fixed for Payment on Invoice, you authorize me to withdraw from any further representation in the chapter 7 case or in any proceeding or matter arising in the case or in any appeal.
If I am entitled to an award of statutory attorney's fees, you authorize me to seek such fee and agree not to waive such fee without my consent. The entitlement to statutory fees shall not affect your obligations to pay me under this agreement. However, any statutory fees collected from third parties shall be credited against your obligation to pay.
We have discussed the fact that certain creditors may contact me about reaffirming debts that will be discharged in your bankruptcy case. Based on our discussions of the consequences of reaffirmation, you authorize me to reject these offers to reaffirm without contacting you about each offer individually, unless I decide you will benefit from such a reaffirmation.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES. You must fully cooperate with me and provide all information relevant to the issues involved in this matter. This includes promptly responding to all letters and phone messages, coming to appointments, the bankruptcy meeting of creditors and any court hearings, and advising me immediately of any change in your address or telephone number. If you do not comply with these requirements, I may ask the court for permission to withdraw from representing you. I may also withdraw at your request if the court approves.
NO GUARANTEE. I agree to provide conscientious, competent and diligent services and at all times will seek to achieve solutions which are just and reasonable for you. However, because of the uncertainty of legal proceedings, the interpretation and changes in the law and many unknown factors, attorneys cannot and do not warrant, predict or guarantee results or the final outcome of any case.
You have received, read, and understand the process involved in bankruptcy which was provided to you along with this retainer agreement. This information included the following VERY IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES REGARDING FRAUDULENT BEHAVIOR: / Usted ha recibido, leído, y entendido el proceso envuelto con la bancarrota que a sido proveído por medio de este contrato. En las siguientes líneas le vamos a proveer una información MUY IMPORTANTE SOBRE ACCIONES DE FRAUDE:
_______. You understand that YOU CANNOT transfer property, be it money in your bank account, cars, or other valuable items to avoid giving them to the bankruptcy estate. THIS IS FRAUD UPON THE COURT. The trustee will inquire as to whether you have made any transfers of more than $600 in the last six months./ Usted entiende que NO PUEDE transferir propiedades, como dinero en su cuenta bancaria, carros, u otros artículos valiosos para evitar darlo al departamento de bancarrota. ESTO ES FRAUDE FRENTE A LA CORTE. El trustee será informado si usted a hecho alguna transferencia más de $600 en los pasados seis meses.
_______. If you received a large sum of money (more than $600) and converted or transferred the funds to avoid having them in your bank account, within the past year, this is also considered fraud upon the court and you may be asked by the trustee to pay the funds to the bankruptcy estate./ Si usted recibe una suma grande de dinero (mas de $600) y los fondos fueron transferidos para evitar tenerlo en su cuenta bancaria, dentro del pasado año, esto es también considerado fraude frente a la corte y puede que el trustee pida que el monto sea pagado al departamento de bancarrota.
_______. You understand that if you had real estate property within the last 5 years that you’ve sold with the intent to avoid including in your bankruptcy estate, the trustee may ask you to turn-over the funds you received from that property or deny your discharge if the judge finds that it is a fraudulent transfer./ Usted entiende que si a tenido una propiedad de real estate en los pasados cinco años que haya sido vendida para evitar que aparezcan en el estado de bancarrota, el trustee puede pedir que entregue los fondos recibidos de esa propiedad o negar la liquidación si el juez encuentra fraude en la transferencia.
_______. You understand that if you used your credit cards or any other type of credit shortly before filing your bankruptcy, that creditor may bring an adversary proceeding against you alleging fraud in the use of that card. If they win, that debt will not be discharged and you will be responsible for that debt. You should not use your credit card at least 6 months before filing for bankruptcy./ Usted entiende que sí a usado sus tarjetas de crédito o cualquier otro tipo de crédito un poco antes de empezar el proceso de bancarrota, el acreedor puede comenzar un procedimiento en contra de usted como si fuera fraude en cuanto al uso de tu tarjeta de crédito. Si el acreedor gana, esa deuda no se va a poder liquidar y usted tendría que tomar responsabilidad sobre ella. Usted no debería hacer uso de sus tarjetas de crédito por lo menos seis meses antes de iniciar la bancarrota.
_______. You understand that if you inherent any money, receive a judgment awarding you money, win the lottery, receive a payment from someone who owes you money, or receive any money outside your normal wages, the bankruptcy estate has rights to this money if you receive it within 6 months after receiving your discharge./ Usted entiende que sí a heredado dinero, por colecta de una demanda ganada, ganancia de una lotería, pagos recibidos de alguien que le deba, o cualquier dinero recibido fuera del salario regular, el estado de bancarrota tiene el derecho de adquirir el dinero recibido entre los primeros seis meses después de la descarga de sus deudas.
______. You understand that if you obtained any credit, including mortgages, by fraudulently declaring a higher income or making misrepresentation on the application, that creditor can bring an adversary proceeding against you and the judge can deny your discharge./ Usted entiende que si obtiene cualquier tipo de crédito, incluyendo hipotecas, todo ingreso declarado en la aplicación incorrectamente es considerado fraude, y causa que el acreedor comience un procedimiento en contra de usted logrando que el juez niegue la cancelación de sus deudas.
______. You understand that if you have an administration or maintenance entity for your property (HOA or Condominium Management Co.) you are responsible for monthly charges from the date that we file your petition and onward./ Usted entiende que si tienes una administración o mantenimiento (HOA or Condominium Management Co.) usted eres responsable por los cargos mensuales desde la fecha de entregar la petición y en adelante.
_______.You understand that our offices are not accountants and therefore not qualified to provide you with the most accurate tax information available. Please contact your accountant to discuss the potential outcomes of the above undertaking./ Usted entiende que en nuestras oficinas no tenemos contadores y por ese motivo no calificamos para proveer información correcta acerca de los taxes. Usted puede contactar a su contador para que él le dé la información correcta que necesita, o responder cualquier pregunta, o dudas sobre las ramificaciones de este caso.
_______.You understand that we are not immigration attorneys and therefore not qualified to provide you with the most accurate information on how your bankruptcy petition will affect your immigration process or your status in this country./ Usted entiende que en nuestras oficinas no tenemos abogados de inmigración y por ese motivo no podemos proveerle la información más correcta de cómo su bancarrota afectara su proceso de inmigración o su situación migratoria en este país.
_______.You understand that you have to complete credit counseling before filing your bankruptcy petition, your attendance is mandatory at the Creditors meeting, and you must complete a post-petition course concerning Personal Financial Management within 45 days of the first date set for the meeting of creditors (in Chapter 7) or no later than the last payment made by you as required by the plan or the filing of a motion for entry of a discharge under §1328(b) of the Code (in Chapter 13)./ Usted entiende que tiene que completar consejería de crédito antes de iniciar la petición de bancarrota. Su presencia es obligatoria en la cita de acreedores, después que la petición sea completada usted debe completar un curso llamado Personal Financial Management durante los primeros 45 días después de la primera reunión con los acreedores (en el Capitulo 7), no mas tarde del ultimo pago hecho como requerimiento por el plan o por la entrega de la aplicación que ya haya sido completada bajo §1328 (b) del Código (en el Capitulo 13).
_______.You understand that the Bankruptcy Process entails strict deadlines and failure to provide documents in a timely manner may result in your petition being discharged. You agree to provide the required documentation as necessary. You acknowledge receiving the bankruptcy documents checklist provided to you along with this retainer./ Usted entiende que el proceso de la bancarrota implica estrictas fechas limites y el no proveer los documentos en el tiempo que se le pide puede resultar que su petición sea rechazada. Usted esta de acuerdo de proveer la documentación necesaria y recibe el conocimiento de la lista de documentos de bancarrota que es proveído junto con este contrato.
If this correctly states your understanding of our agreement, please sign this agreement below. We thank you for using the services of The Law Office of Vanessa Gonzalez-Vinas, P.A./ Si esto le da entendimiento sobre nuestro contrato, por favor firme en las líneas siguientes y le agradecemos por usar nuestros servicios en nuestras oficinas, Law Office of Vanessa Gonzalez-Vinas, P.A.
You will automatically receive the signed copy of this agreement to your email after submitting. / Usted recibirá automáticamente una copia firmada de este acuerdo en su correo electrónico después de enviarlo.