Probate Lawyer Fees

From Ohio

I'll try to make this short, but I have a question on what recourse my mother-in-law can take concerning a verbal agreement with the lawyer handling her late son's estate.
Her son was killed in August of 99 without a will. He owned a sizeable business and went to a probate lawyer. They verbally discussed
how the fees would be hourly (quoting her $125 per hour for his fees and lower for his assistant's). She discussed this with all of us in September and was pleased she found a lawyer to work on those conditions. While recently talking with her lawyer on how the case was comming he started discussing his percentage fees. When he took this case he assumed that the hourly would be more than the percentage not realizing that her son was worth more than a half a million dollars. Now the terms have changed and he is insisting on percentage fees.

She never signed a contract concerning how this firm would be paid to her knowledge (which taking place in a lawyer's office I feel was premeditated on the behalf of the lawyer) and now is at a loss, not only for her son, but on where to turn next to find a lawyer she can TRUST.

This case is far from completion because they haven't even gotten the inventory value yet (which is the bulk of the sum). Will she have to pay this firm what they say she owes them to get all the documents, etc. back that they now have in there possesion, or can she start fresh with another lawyer and let a new lawyer take the case.

Thank you so much for your time.

Linda

As I see it the issue is one of trust, and I don't like lawyers who take a "heads I win, tails you lose" approach.

This lawyer sounds like a lawyer who is trying to take advantage. In all honesty however, he may have said (or thought he said) something along the line of "I take a percentage unless the estate is small and then I charge by the hour." I do not know what he said, or intended to say, or what your mother-in-law heard, or though she heard.

You have the right to fire the lawyer now. In some states you get the files back and the lawyer has a lien on the proceeds; in others the lawyer can demand payment before releasing the files. (Yes, there are some clients who try to "stiff" lawyers.) In some states, absent a "written fee contract", the lawyer is penalized in terms of the fees that can be collected. I do not know Ohio law, but a lot of lawers on https://attorneypages.com do!

If she wants to change lawyers, she should get another lawyer, and have that lawyer square things away with lawyer one. It may not save her money, but it will keep lawyer one from screwing her, and he may not lioke having others in the profession know he tries to take advantage of clients....

Also, most local and stae bar associations have a fee dispute resolution procedure that tends to be fair. Fee disputes are a major cause of complaints to bar grievance / disciplinary groups and these fee resolution bar committees are often intended to head off the disputes at the pass.

provision

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