Legal Question in Legal Malpractice in Iowa

Is there legal action I can take

My parents both passed away almost 4 months ago. Neither parent had a will and we retained a lawyer to handle the estate. We were told that it should take him only 10 hours to handle the case, and that he thought it could all been done with out having to set an estate up as they owned no land or home, just personal effects and a vehichle. I have received no phone calls from him other than one and that was him returning my call. Every time I call I am givin an exuse and up until about a month ago he hadn't even started on it. I have been told that I would be getting forms in the mail to sign for life insurance and retierment benefits and have yet to receive anything. I live so far away and feel as if I am being taken advantage of because I can't just stop by and see what he has done. I am not familar with probate and do not know how long it should take but it seems that something should of been done by now. Funeral exspense's have yet to be paid as we are waiting for the life insurance money. What should I do? Whom should I contact about this or is this normal for it to take so long?


Asked on 3/21/01, 10:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Peter Soble Peter M. Soble, P.C., Attorney

Re: Is there legal action I can take

You have a sluggish and unresponsive attorney and there has been a breakdown of the attorney/client relationship, obviously. However, I see no malpractice since I see no harm, and no statute of limitations has as yet run. While you may have lost some interest on the money you should have received, the amount would not be worth the trouble to sue for. I recommend you simply discharge the attorney you have and retain new counsel.

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Answered on 5/28/01, 8:29 pm


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