attorney dies payed in advance

[mrrobert]

Cal,

lawyer died & money was already paid ...

no work done. trustee only wants to give a tiny refund this sounds unfair

is there a fiduciary duty?)

what to do?

at first I thought it fair to accept a partial refund until I found no work done

 

[justalayman]

there was s fiduciary duty the attorney owed you but now that he is dead, it has no place here.

no work done. trustee only wants to give a tiny refund this sounds unfair

well, if there was only a tiny payment, a tiny refund would be proper.

If there was absolutely no work done at all, you would be entitled to a full refund of your payments but since making a file folder for you constitutes work, I am sure there was some work performed on your behalf. You would be due your payment minus a reasonable sum for any work performed.

what to do?

before you do anything, you refer to any contract you may have signed with the attorney.

then, if no direction,

tell them to refund all money not accounted for in billable time.

If they refuse, depending on if the attorney worked as an individual or for a corporation, the actions would vary.

If an individual, you get yourself listed as a creditor to the guys estate.


If for a corporation, you sue the corporation.

 

[garrula lingua]

CA Bar usually steps in - is it a Bar trustee offering the refund ?

If it isn't a Bar trustee, then contact the Bar (calbar.com) with your complaint.

If it's the Bar, oh well - maybe your case was the last straw ... you can't dig the poor sod up to sue him/her.
I guess you could submit a claim if there's a Probate case.

 

[mrrobert]

thanks for responses, very little info on this subject

first of all I paid in full & it was 23 grand. I paid in good faith & had to get a bank loan.

second) there was nothing about "death" in the fee agreement

third) a family member/trustee. & they don't want to refund $$$ except for a measly $2500..

fourth) there is NO work done. & even if there was some work it would not have value to anyone but the original attorney..

fifth) the BAR is zero help I called & they could do nothing

I am thinking about hiring an ethics attorney to write a letter , asking for $ back or get sued plus damages....no one has sympathy for a greedy relative of a recently deceased person...it is not like I am trying to reap benefit over the situation

 

[garrula lingua]

The Bar is supposed to ensure that cases aren't dropped when an attorney is ill or dies.

Who is the attorney assigned to your case ??
Has someone taken over your atty's practice ?
Has someone notified the court that your atty died ?
Do you have any court deadlines coming due ?

Has probate been opened ?
Send a claim. certifed mail, to the Trustee.

How much is, honestly, due as a refund ?
Was some work done ?
What type of case was this ? -- criminal ?
Did the atty have a partner ?
What type of business entity was this ? sole proprietor, corp ?

 

[mrrobert]

lots of ?s

thanks for asking.

The only good news was it was a civil issue.

I was NOT notified. a couple of months went by....so I called...then I got a return call from trustee/relative

NObody to fill in...left in the lurch...No partner/ he was alone

seriously NO work done...I had an attorney look in my file it was only the original papers & a few worthless notes ... "hours logged" but no work

to keep 20 grand is unfair... 20 grand should have been almost done...

Can I demand full payment from Trustee/relative threaten to take legal action?
TY..