What is the name of your state? New York
My wife's grandmother died. My wife's father inherited the estate. 3 months later, he died. My wife inherited the estate. The attorney said there would be one fee to handle both estates (by percentage of the total estate), since it was all the same money (her father had no assets or will). The attorney showed her the percentages and said that the court clerk told her to bill it this way. Twice my wife asked and was reassured that she would pay this percentage once, since it was all the same money. Now she has a bill for double what she thought. A bill for the percentage taken out of each "estate." This attorney is saying the court clerk told her this was how to bill it.
So my questions:
1) This looks shady. Is this double-dipping legal?
2) The court clerk told my wife it was unethical for him to discuss whether this was right or not with her. Why was it allegedly okay for him to advise her attorney how to bill her?
3) This attorney clearly changed the way it would be billed without notifying my wife. What do you do next?What is the name of your state?
My wife's grandmother died. My wife's father inherited the estate. 3 months later, he died. My wife inherited the estate. The attorney said there would be one fee to handle both estates (by percentage of the total estate), since it was all the same money (her father had no assets or will). The attorney showed her the percentages and said that the court clerk told her to bill it this way. Twice my wife asked and was reassured that she would pay this percentage once, since it was all the same money. Now she has a bill for double what she thought. A bill for the percentage taken out of each "estate." This attorney is saying the court clerk told her this was how to bill it.
So my questions:
1) This looks shady. Is this double-dipping legal?
2) The court clerk told my wife it was unethical for him to discuss whether this was right or not with her. Why was it allegedly okay for him to advise her attorney how to bill her?
3) This attorney clearly changed the way it would be billed without notifying my wife. What do you do next?What is the name of your state?