Legal Question in Family Law in California

Re: Unused Retainer

It depends. You have a right to request an itemization of all services performed. If your attorney charged you on a billable hour basis, he is required to show you how much time he put in your case and what he did during that time.

If your attorney has not put in enough hours to use the entire retainer, then you may be entitled to a refund depending on the language in your contract. If your contract contains a phrase like: "Attorney fees are earned when paid," or "Retainer is made to reserve attorney's time and availability," then you may not be entitled to a refund.

You may contact your local county bar association to request fee arbitration where a neutral arbitrator will review your contract and your attorney's billing statment to determine if you are entiled to a refund.