Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 8/17/2008

Question
QUESTION: I filed chapter 7 and went to the hearing about two weeks ago.  My home and care are protected and I told the lawyer I had my house up for sale.  He told me many times it was protected from the day he filed but never told me I couldnt sell it til after the disposition.  The date for the signing is suppose to be in two weeks and now I am told the prospective buyers could sue me.  I don't have any money to pay a lawyer again and all i get from my lawyer is "this will cost you more you know". Is there a way I can get the courts permission to sell my home.  I will be out on the street with no car and no house if I don't get permission to sell it on the date of signing. These people are locked into a fixed rate for a certain amt of time so time is important here. I had temporary live in to help me with the finances but they left and went back home figuring everything was ok now.  Please help.

ANSWER: Only the Trustee can sell your home while you're in a Chapter 7 case.  You have no ownership interest in it until the Trustee decides to abandon the property back to you, which usually occurs when your case is closed.  The only other way to do it sooner is file a motion for abandonment of the property which, as your attorney pointed out, would probably cost you additional attorneys fees.

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QUESTION: The closing date is scheduled for aug 29th and the prospective buyers could sue me since they have spent money for surveyors etc and have a fixed rate for a certain length of time.  Is there a way a judge might talk to me and this could be done?

ANSWER: You need to discuss this with your attorney.  If your local rules allow it, you can file an ex parte application or emergency motion.

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QUESTION: I do not mean to go over this question again and again but my problem originated from my lawyer not telling me all the facts.  I even mentioned it several times that my house looked good for a sale now with the people that were looking at it.  Not once did he tell me I would have to wait to sell the house. He led me to believe that I could sell it at anytime after he filed those papers.  Even after the hearing he said:  Don't forget you have to notify the court if you move or there is a change of address, all the time knowing the change of address would only come if I sold the house.  Could legal aid do anything for me, help me in any way getting this fixed?

Answer
You can hire a new attorney at any time.  I don't know what else to tell you.  I cannot handle the case for you unless it was filed in the Los Angeles area.  Your local county bar association may have a referral service you can use.  If your concern is the buyers suing you, as long as the contract for sale was entered into before you filed your bankruptcy case, you won't be liable for anything on that.