If my bankruptcy attorney only emails me in incomplete sentences and doesn't really answer my questions, what can I do?

Consider hiring a new attorney. Please understand that chapter 13 bankruptcy is a very complicated process. It is wise to talk to an experienced bankruptcy attorney before deciding to take this important step. Don't assume the attorney is being completely honest about their experience and capabilities. Check them out.

You can change attorneys. Send him a letter telling him you want a new attorney. He will file a motion to withdraw from the case and you can get a new attorney.

I would suggest scheduling an appointment to meet with the attorney to discuss your problems as you are going to be asking him to perform quite a bit of additional work. Besure you acknowledge that you understand that you will be expected to pay for this additional work.

No you can always hire another attorney but I would not take legal advice from the local Department of Rehabilitation.

You are always free to seek a second opinion or retain different counsel. If you retain a new lawyer, however, you should expect to pay some sort of cash retainer at that time. Depending upon what you are trying to accomplish in your chapter 13 plan it may be possible to seek a modification to reduce your plan payments. It may also be an option to consider converting your case to a chapter 7. These options will be very fact dependent and should be discussed with your attorney, or with a new attorney if yours is not being helpful or responsive.

You have to understand my answer is biased because I am a different attorney. First of all, a firm like the one I work for, our paralegals are strictly forbidden to give any legal advice and our clients have our direct line (all of mine have my cell as well). We also don't hire people to go to meetings for us and the attorney that does most of your work is the one that guides you through the whole process and goes to all the hearings etc. The sad news is that many firms are exactly as you describe. The paralegal does most of the work and the attorney can hardly be bothered with telephone calls. Especially from people who have already paid and are in a plan. It's a very terrible situation. I would suggest that you 1. consider filing an ethics report www.calbar.ca.gov because your attorney is required to communicate with you. You can try suggesting to the attorney that this is what you're considering and maybe the attorney will pay attention to you. 2. I would reach out to a different firm to represent you. Depending on the actual facts, you may be able to do a motion to modify your plan which can put you back in the green again. This is not always possible but the better attorneys can tell you with much more confidence than a cheap attorney. For example, our law firm has a former Chapter 13 trustee staff attorney, so she knows exactly what she's doing.

You should fire this attorney because he should give you a complete answer.

You might be able to file a modified plan to reduce the amount of your payment to the trustee, or you might be able to convert your case to Chapter 7, or you might be able to apply for a hardship discharge. If your attorney is not willing to discuss these options with you, you can fire your attorney and hire a new one.