Can you hire a CPA and a bankruptcy lawyer at the same time?

You can object to the dischargeability of the debt on the basis of fraud if you can prove they knew they were going to file when they hired you.

The amount owed you will be discharged in the bankruptcy. Your options are slim at this time.

Services performed fewer than 90 days are presumed to be fraudulent and nondischargeable. You must file an adversary proceeding (lawsuit) in the bankruptcy court case to get a determination of its nondischargeability.

It could be fraud but more information would be required to determine if you have reasonable grounds to file a complaint objecting to the dischargeability of the debt owed you for your services. You have a very limited amount of time (generally 60 days after the meeting of creditors) to file such a complaint. You will need to hire a lawyer to represent and it is likely that a $5,000 debt may be too small to warrant the legal fees and litigation costs you will pay without any assurance that you will win and be able to collect anything anyway. You should consult with a bankruptcy attorney immediately. Most consumer bankruptcy attorney would not represent a creditor and most creditor bankruptcy attorneys represent large creditors or collection agenvies so you might find it hard to get a lawyer interested in your case.

It might or might not be. You'd want to meet with a bankruptcy specialist to evaluate pursuing this in bankruptcy court. Bear in mind the retainer would be a few thousand dollars, so it may not be profitable even if it is pursuable.

You may have cause to seek an "adversary" action to have the debt determined non-dischargable by the court under these circumstances. You should consult local counsel. .

First, forgive me for saying that $5,000 is a big fee for 2 weeks of work. It does sound like they knew they'd be filing when they retained you, though. A debt incurred w/in 70-90 days of filing, if for luxury goods and services, is nondischargeable. I'd suggest contacting their lawyer to see if you can work it out. If not, retain counsel for yourself to file a claim of nondischargeability.