Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey
My mother filed a law suit because someone unknown to her managed to fraudulantly take possession of her property, without her knowledge, and then use it as collateral to receive money and then disappeared. She hired an attorney to rectify the situation and paid this attorney in excess of $32,000. In the middle of the case my mother passed away leaving me, as her executor, to continue the case. Shortly thereafter the attorney applied to the court to be removed from the case and the judge granted his request. Leaving me with no attorney and no money to hire another attorney because every last cent my mother had was paid to this attorney. How can this be legal or allowed? How can an attorney just abandon a case in the middle and keep all the monies they were paid? How can a judge just allow an attorney to remove himself and leave the client with no representation or means to gain representation. The opposing attorney is filing motions and requesting things that I have no idea how to respond to. It seems to me that I have been left at a severely unfair disadvantage by the court with no reprocussion. What can I possible do about this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
When the attorney applied to be removed, were you given notice and an opportunity to respond?
You should have been able to request time to substitute a new attorney to represent you.
There may have been reasons that the first attorney was entitled to be relieved from the representation.
If too much time has not passed since the judge granted the request, you may be able to reopen the matter and state your reasons for needing time to get another lawyer.
This response is not legal advice, since I do not have all of the information that would be required, and I do not have a representation agreement with you.
* If the answers to your question confirm that you have a valid issue or worthwhile claim, your next step should almost always be to establish a dialog with a lawyer who can provide specific advice to you. Contact a lawyer in your county or township.
* Another reason for contacting a lawyer is that it is often impossible to give a good answer in the Internet Q&A format without having more information. The unique circumstances of your situation and things that you may not have thought to mention in your question may completely change the answer. If you want to be sure that you have a complete answer to your question and an understanding of what that answer means, establish a connection with a lawyer who practices in the area of your concern.
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