Money in Escrow

[paula62270]

My parents sold their multi-family house a little over three years ago. At the closing the buyer's attorneys asked us to put $20,000 in a special escrow account due to a Certificate of Occupancy. At the time the drive way wasn't legalized so we agreed to leave money in escrow until we received a permit. Both lawyers told us that it should be resolved within a few months so we thought it wasn't such a big deal. It's been a little over 3 years and still the problem hasn't been resolved. We tried calling my lawyer and all we get is a run around. Our lawyers son in law is an engineer and he was suppose to take care of the situation but never did. Never called us with an status update. Every time we call him he is never available. I threatened to take legal action the last time I spoke with him and he seemed a bit nervous and said he would do his best to get things done. That was over a month ago. Haven't heard from him since. I am getting tired of the same response when I call him. I need to get my money back ASAP before it's too late. Can anyone please give me advice on what to do?

[LindaP777]

Originally Posted by paula62270

Can anyone please give me advice on what to do?

I'd seek legal counsel from another attorney who specializes in real estate. Have the new lawyer send him a strongly worded letter and if there has been any misappropriations of funds or anything that even remotely looks illegal, tell him he will be reported to the bar association.

[paula62270]

I am not sure if there has been any wrongdoing. What I do know is that they promised it would only take a few months so the lawyer back then didn't feel it necessary to put the money in an interest baring account. He didn't even bother calling us after a few months to discuss other options so we could earn interest on the account. So naturally three years later we could have invested that money elsewhere instead of sitting in an account without interest. My sister and I have already warned him about reporting him to the bar association but he says that it isn't him, it's his son in law.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by paula62270

My parents sold their multi-family house a little over three years ago. At the closing the buyer's attorneys asked us to put $20,000 in a special escrow account due to a Certificate of Occupancy. At the time the drive way wasn't legalized so we agreed to leave money in escrow until we received a permit. Both lawyers told us that it should be resolved within a few months so we thought it wasn't such a big deal. It's been a little over 3 years and still the problem hasn't been resolved. We tried calling my lawyer and all we get is a run around. Our lawyers son in law is an engineer and he was suppose to take care of the situation but never did. Never called us with an status update. Every time we call him he is never available. I threatened to take legal action the last time I spoke with him and he seemed a bit nervous and said he would do his best to get things done. That was over a month ago. Haven't heard from him since. I am getting tired of the same response when I call him. I need to get my money back ASAP before it's too late. Can anyone please give me advice on what to do?

Report this lawyer to the state bar's disciplinary committee no later than 2 1/2 years ago.