Legal Question in Family Law in California
Poor Representation-Questionnable Attorney Fees.
In January, my 5+ year court case to determine an amount to be paid in Family Support by my ex-husband to me was settled.
Throughout the case, when I questioned my attorney about the rising fees I owed, he repeadedly told me not to worry, it would be adjusted based upon my award from the court and most of the fees would be paid by my ex-husband. Before anything was adjusted, my attorney became ill and died. His wife closed the office, presented me with a bill for $30,000.00 and was not willing to make ANY adjustments that were promised me by her husband.
I received a letter from my attorney's estate stating that the $30,000.00 must be paid in full w/in the next 30 days.
1. What is my recourse?
2. How can I dispute the fees?
I began with the attorney in 1995, 12 times we had court dates, 12 times he asked for continuances and by the time my case was settled, the attorney had the exact same documents on my ex-husband's income as he did in 1995 when I first went to him. He never subpoened any documentation from my ex-husband and he never did any research on where my ex-husband was hiding his income.
I would like to be able to take care of both of these matters without having to hire another attorney.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Poor Representation Attorney Fees.
Ask the County Bar Association (or if there is none, The
State Bar of California) for a fee arbitration. Or you can
wait until a suit is filed and defend.
Re: Poor Representation
I would not rely on the Bar Association for anything.
They might agree to investigate but in the mean time
the widow may file a lawsuit against you and you would
have to hire an attorney to defend that action which
will end up costing you a fortune. This is
a simple breach of contract. I handle this type of case
all the time. I would be happy to give you a free consultation
and inform you of what you can do to protect yourself
against this women and against a judgment being taken against
you. I know that you do not wish to hire an attorney. Obviously
this mans poor handling of your case gives you a reason.
However, I'm afraid that if you do not talk to an attorney
soon about your options you may be stuck defending
a lawsuit that may have been prevented. If you
would like to take advantage of a free consultation
please feel free to contact my office at (805) 546-9918
or you can email me at [email protected] with your phone
number and a convenient time to call and I would
be happy to speak with you regarding the details of
the case and what options are open to you at this time.
I look forward to hearing from you. Additionally,
in case you do not wish to speak with me, if you are served
with a lawsuit you are required to file an answer
with the court within 30 days regardless of whether or
not the claim is valid. If you do not a default judgment
will be filed against you and then it is extremely difficult
to have the judgment reversed or to object to the charges.
Good luck and I hope that you give us lawyers another
chance. Most of us are cool. :)
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