Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Problems with my current attorney

Hello!My dvorce has been going on for 18 months now and I do not understand why. While married, I was a stay at home mom of a disabled child and my husband supported us. When he left he took his six figure salary with him and provided us with $800 a month to live on and pay bills with. I had to borrow money to get an attorney and worked out a plan to pay her monthly after the retainer fee ran out. She decided 2 weeks ago that to continue my case she required an immediate payment of $8000, which is $4000 more than I owe her. Also she informed me of this three days after she was awarded $3000 dollars from my portion of my husbands 401k plan.I cannot afford this and she has known my financial situation all along. I also cannot afford to get another attorney.I feel that she is way overcharging me for her services. My husband and I own one piece of property together and have no custody disputes, yet she and my husband's attorney continue to email each other ,over nothing, daily at $275 an email. I do not understand what is taking so long and why it is costing so much. When I questioned my attorney about this, she blamed my husband's attorney for being incompetent and said it takes a dozen emails before he will reply. Please help me!


Asked on 4/27/06, 10:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
tracy griffin tracy lee griffin pa

Re: Problems with my current attorney

Unfortunately, opposing counsel is often responsible for adding to your own attorney's fees. When your attorney is being diligent and following up on your case and the opposing counsel does not timely respond - the costs add up due to her good diligence. Ask her if she has filed a motion for attorney's fees and costs. I assume she asked for them in either the petition or counter-petition but she needs to ask for them in a motion on a temporary basis (temporary relief maybe).

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Answered on 4/27/06, 11:45 pm


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