Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California

I did some research for you regarding your matter. The first answer is that you could need either a CA or a NH attorney being where the attorney is who handled the divorce? Looks as though CA with a note on the NH home? Here is some underlying ethical law:

This is the primary rule: Upon client request, lawyers are required to promptly pay or deliver to the client any funds, securities or other properties in their possession that the client is �entitled� to receive. Ca Professional Conduct Rule 4-100(B)(4). Where an attorney has possession of settlement proceeds subject to a disputed attorney's lien, the proceeds must be placed in a client trust account until the dispute is resolved. Ca Professional Conduct Rule 4-100(A)(2). By contrast, the attorney may not withhold the undisputed portion of the client's funds because of a fee dispute. The undisputed amount must be paid promptly to the client upon demand. Friedman v. State Bar (1990) 50 Cal.3d 235, 240-241, 266 Cal.Rptr. 632, 634-635.

There would be more to research as I would need more facts? That just gives a rough idea of how the rules work regarding attorney lien laws. Now, if there is no attorney lien, the Law would be somewhat different if not entirely different. The real issue is to get to the facts and then look at the ethical rules closer. Attorneys fees do vary. My hourly rate is $175.