I AM ALWAYS.. and others

[questionsinsc]

Hey, dont think I am an idiot, even if I sound like one...
I had retained an atty in my original state during a move and also one in my new state. It was because I was seeking to conceed jurisdiction to my new state, set up a new visitaion schedule, set up cs withholdings, etc. Anyway, bio dad has decided pretty much to consent to my husbands adopting our 12 yr old son. Here is the question, the atty here in my new state tells me the adoption is going to cost in upwards of 5 grand! So I find another atty, he says about 1,500! What a difference! I will most likely go with the lesser. What do I do now? Do I tell my atty he is fired? He still has about 500 "non refundable" retainer. do I tell the new guy about the old guy now, or do I wait? I havent retained the new guy yet, just spoke on the phone about proceedures, fees, etc. I am really not as naive as I sound I just am not sure how to handle it.

 

[Ukiah]

Hey, dont think I am an idiot, even if I sound like one...
I had retained an atty in my original state during a move and also one in my new state. It was because I was seeking to conceed jurisdiction to my new state, set up a new visitaion schedule, set up cs withholdings, etc. Anyway, bio dad has decided pretty much to consent to my husbands adopting our 12 yr old son. Here is the question, the atty here in my new state tells me the adoption is going to cost in upwards of 5 grand! So I find another atty, he says about 1,500! What a difference! I will most likely go with the lesser. What do I do now? Do I tell my atty he is fired? He still has about 500 "non refundable" retainer. do I tell the new guy about the old guy now, or do I wait? I havent retained the new guy yet, just spoke on the phone about proceedures, fees, etc. I am really not as naive as I sound I just am not sure how to handle it.

Don't worry about how you sound, I do it too. Don't anyone agree with that!

You know, I went through the same thing! I found one Atty that sounded really good, for $5000.00. I told him I thought that was a little high, and that I'd look around. I found another one who was $1000.00 To do the first half of my case (Change of Venue) then it'd be another $1500.00 For the Custody Petition.

Now, here's what I'm thinking, I'll test this guy out while he's doing the Change of Venue, then If I don't like him, I just ask for the case files back and go with someone else.

So far, I like what he's doing, and he's even letting me help with obtaining info and doing some of the leg work. When it comes time to do the petition of custody, I'll definately ask him harder questions, and get consultations with a few other attorneys to get a feel for who can do the best job for me (& my daughter's sake), and I'll go with them.

You can let your attorney go at any time. If you found a better one that's cheaper, go for them. BUT make sure they are going to do you some justice. It's like getting the most for the least amount of money.

You should let your "old" atty go the same day you go to retain your new attorney. You are the employer of that attorney, you are paying him to do a job for you, when the rate of pay is too high, you find someone else to do the same thing for you at a lower rate of pay. The "new" atty will find out about the old one when he goes thru your case files.

If your present attorney has an amount left, you can either walk away from it or have him start some paperwork for you then let him go when the retainer is gone, then retain the other attorney. I'm not sure if you can have two attorney's of record or not, maybe IAAL, or someone else can tell you that...

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Ukiah is, of course, very much correct.

But, my suggestion would be that when you find a new attorney, let that new attorney write a letter to your old attorney about your having changed attorneys in your matter. You cannot have two attorneys of record, unless they are part of the same law firm, or have both agreed to dual representation, with your consent, and have agreed to split the attorney fees.

Dual representation is more common than you may realize. Two agreeing attorneys, with the consent of the client, will handle differing parts of the litigation; e.g., one will handle the divorce, and the other will handle the property issues.

Your new attorney will handle the change of attorneys by filing the appropriate court forms, and make sure that your file is transferred to his office.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 02-22-2001 at 12:15 PM]

 

[LegalBeagle]

I think OJ had 4 attorneys.. and Bush had 85.. Gore probably 44 ...

The best way to pick an attorney is go sit in on Family Court and watch the attorneys in action..

 

[questionsinsc]

Thank you soooo much. Could I use the 500 thats left and use him as the guardian ad litem? Can he say no? Could he say, "sorry, I wont do it even tho I have 500 of your unused dollars" I mean seriously this guy is like a pit bull. Which is why I liked him in the first place, but I dont need that now.

 

[Ukiah]

Thank you soooo much. Could I use the 500 thats left and use him as the guardian ad litem? Can he say no? Could he say, "sorry, I wont do it even tho I have 500 of your unused dollars" I mean seriously this guy is like a pit bull. Which is why I liked him in the first place, but I dont need that now.

I believe that when you signed an agreement to use his services, it stated something to the effect that your retainer is to be used to render a specific service.

Of course, if you think it may help, talk to him and let him know you would now like him to transfer that amount to do another service. I don't know that he can become a guardian ad litem though.

 

[TaylorsMom]

atty switch

i did that once (got a different atty) and the old one charged me for making copies of my whole file before he would release original file to new retained atty? check it out, it cost me $150.00 !!!???

 

[Ukiah]

Re: atty switch

i did that once (got a different atty) and the old one charged me for making copies of my whole file before he would release original file to new retained atty? check it out, it cost me $150.00 !!!???

I went to the court house and made my own copies from my case. I have the original copies, and gave the atty a new set of copies from mine. I beleieve that your case file copies you gave him are your own property, you should be able to get them back,without charge, unless you owe him some money, then he'll hold it as collateral.