changing lawyers

[ladybg1]

What is the name of your state?Florida
I am the PR for my dad's estate, I hired an attorney for this in May 2004. He has continually dragged his feet on this. My dad's companion has a life estate in the house. She is 83 &moving out in 2 weeks to live with her son. I advised the attorney of this in early April & he has still not sent her a letter for the release of her life estate. I want to contact a "probate" attorney to take over this matter. Can I do this ? What kind of costs should I have to pay the 1st attorney

 

[BlondiePB]

I want to contact a "probate" attorney to take over this matter. Can I do this ?

Yes, you can do this. Get some free initial consultations with reputable Probate Attorneys. Ask about dismissing current attorney and assistance with a "your services are no longer needed" letter to send attorney you want to fire.

What kind of costs should I have to pay the 1st attorney

Costs for the time that the attorney has done on the case. You want an itemized statement. New attorney may also be helpful in negotiating the bill.

 

[seniorjudge]

A reputable attorney will not and should not be talking to a potential client about a case when that potential client has an attorney. Thus, your best bet is to fire the first lawyer, get your file, and then go shopping.

 

[BlondiePB]

A reputable attorney will not and should not be talking to a potential client about a case when that potential client has an attorney. Thus, your best bet is to fire the first lawyer, get your file, and then go shopping.

I won't disagree with you, Judgy. I decided to fire an attorney and did receive free in-person consulatations and some phone consultations with several lawyers. These attorneys all knew right from the "get go" that I had not yet dismissed the current attorney, but I certainly was going to.

For the case, I ended up with one of the best attorneys in the state - even though it took a week and a half to work out a few details of the new contract. He, new attorney, did an excellent job with my case and also reduced the prior attorney's bill from over $3,000.00 to $500.00. Perhaps here in FL, that's the way attorneys, even reputable ones, do things.

Edit: First attorney was dismissed prior to signing contract with new attorney.