In re Williams

Attorney Fees - Chapter 13 debtor's attorneys were not entitled to be compensated for their postconfirmation services.

Chapter 13 debtor's attorneys were entitled to be compensated from the bankruptcy estate for their postconfirmation services only up until the hearing on creditors' motion for relief from the stay to exercise their rights in the debtor's and her unemployed husband's motor vehicles and on the debtor's proposal to modify her already significantly underfunded plan in order to further delay payments to her creditors. While the debtor may have requested that the attorneys represent her at this hearing and may have derived some benefit by further delaying creditors, it should have been obvious that the debtor did not have the income to afford the assets she sought to retain for herself and her husband, much less another $5,654.15 of postconfirmation fees and costs. The first question that must be asked and answered by a Chapter 13 debtor's counsel in rendering postconfirmation services is whether those services are reasonably likely to benefit the debtor, if not the estate, and whether the burden of legal fees being incurred is disproportionate to the benefit to be gained.

Date of decision: 12/7/07