Legal Question in Family Law in Massachusetts
custody battle
what will happen if i have no legal representation on the date of my child custody trial?
I can no longer afford my lawyer. I have spent 17,000.00 to date and they now want 10,000.00 more to continue to prepare for the trial. How do I proceed with this matter?
I'm scared to go into the courtroom without representation. I cannot afford these fees any longer, yet I make too much to recieve free legal aid. Where do I go from here?
Is there any representation in my area which will work with a client on a payment plan setup?
This case should have never gotten to the point of a trial. I have always had custody of my daughter who just turned 12. I never married her father and never took him to court for child support. My daughter visited with him in Florida this past summer. He did not return her and enrolled her in school. I went to Fla. with court order to retrieve her with help from sheriffs. When we got back, the father came to ma. and file for sole custody, filed 3 reports with DSS, and stated that I was beating my child, and I was a cocaine/crack addict. This case goes on and on and will be 8 months later when it goes to trial in may. Please help me.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: custody battle
If you act as your own attorney, you will be held to the general standards of practice to which a lawyer is held. However, a good judge will give you at least a little slack in how you frame questions and such. You will still have to subpoena or arrange witnesses, prepare exhibits, and so on.
I do not recommend this approach in a serious case.
Your lawyers cannot withdraw from your representation without permission of the court. Courts often grant such permission, but are leary about doing so when it is solely about lawyer time fees. If the lawyer claims you are not cooperating or taking his/her advice on substantive issues, the fees are argued only secondarily as a grounds for withdrawal. On the other hand, your lawyers are entitled to be paid for their work. A lawyer unhappy enough to file a Motion to Withdraw may not do his or her best work for you at trial -- but is ethically bound to do so if denied permission to withdraw.
This is obviously a seriously contested case, so you should see what you can do to keep the lawyers on.
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