The Shaft by an Attorney??????????

[Blackjacker]

What is the name of your state? TX

Just a general question. I have gone to an attorney about a Trusteee issue with an unsigned Trust (let me know if I need to go into detail) for a consultation. I came with all of my proof in hand and spilled my guts about everything so that the attorney would have the entire picture. After being asked what I wanted to do about it, I asked if that could be done knowing what you know now and the answer was yes we can go 2 different ways.

Once I paid the retainer fee, the attorney drew up one letter, that I proofed and then faxed it to the other 2 parties attorneys, spoke with both of them by phone and called me back to say, well I think we should take a back seat and let the other 2 attorneys work this out, but I think you still need representation. I said but you told me we could go with one of your two plans, what happened to that? The attorney said, well the Trust document was unsigned and no one has a copy of a signed one. I said, I told you that when I came to you, if the trust was signed I would not have come to an attorney in the first place. And the attorney said, well that's because I thought between the other 2 parties, 1 of them would have one. I said, I told you that no one has a signed copy of the Trust.

To sum it up, I was charged $650 of the $1,000 retainer for 2.5 hours of work that was meaningless. Are people without a law degree always victims to attorneys because they know the law better than we do and they know it would be intimidating to sue them? How would a person that consults with an attorney privately be able to prove what they say they could do when the only thing that is in writing is the check I wrote!

Is this illegal or just unethical?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by Blackjacker

What is the name of your state? TX

Just a general question. I have gone to an attorney about a Trusteee issue with an unsigned Trust (let me know if I need to go into detail) for a consultation. I came with all of my proof in hand and spilled my guts about everything so that the attorney would have the entire picture. After being asked what I wanted to do about it, I asked if that could be done knowing what you know now and the answer was yes we can go 2 different ways.

Once I paid the retainer fee, the attorney drew up one letter, that I proofed and then faxed it to the other 2 parties attorneys, spoke with both of them by phone and called me back to say, well I think we should take a back seat and let the other 2 attorneys work this out, but I think you still need representation. I said but you told me we could go with one of your two plans, what happened to that? The attorney said, well the Trust document was unsigned and no one has a copy of a signed one. I said, I told you that when I came to you, if the trust was signed I would not have come to an attorney in the first place. And the attorney said, well that's because I thought between the other 2 parties, 1 of them would have one. I said, I told you that no one has a signed copy of the Trust.

To sum it up, I was charged $650 of the $1,000 retainer for 2.5 hours of work that was meaningless. Are people without a law degree always victims to attorneys because they know the law better than we do and they know it would be intimidating to sue them? How would a person that consults with an attorney privately be able to prove what they say they could do when the only thing that is in writing is the check I wrote!

Is this illegal or just unethical?

**A: I would like to hear the attorney's side of the story.

[Blackjacker]

Originally Posted by HomeGuru

**A: I would like to hear the attorney's side of the story.

That was a fair response. Needless to say, I cut my losses quickly. I like to think I am a pretty reasonable person and I do understand that you have to make money in whatever business you are in, I just would have done it differently like maybe charging for a consultation instead of the way it was done. Either way, just thought it was unfair.