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Contingency fees

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lindacarroll

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California A friend of mine is in a battle with her 35 year old stepson over her late husband's estate. The husband wrote a will and trust two years before they were married and never updated it. During the 6 years they were married, the two of them built a house out of funds they earned working during the marriage; there is no mortgage. The land was purchased before the marriage and is in the trust. The stepson has no money and wants half of the value of the house. He is threatening to sue by using a lawyer on a contingency basis. Do probate lawyers typically work on contingency? Her lawyer wanted a $3000 retainer before even looking at the trust/will.
 


mdconnor

Member
Do probate lawyers typically work on contingency? Her lawyer wanted a $3000 retainer before even looking at the trust/will.
Not sure about other states but in Missouri does not allow contingency on any type of family law. There is a trust and a will? $3000 sounds high to look at it. Must be a slow reader. I would look around for another attorney.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Has the son been named as beneficiary of anything in either the will or in the trust? Has the son been specifically disinherited from the will and/or the trust or not?

Is the home titled in the name of the trust? What does the trust say about who gets the home or if it is to be sold at some later date?

What do you mean it is "her lawyer"? What type of attorney is he (what are his legal specialties--is he already familiar with probate and trust matters)? What services has he performed for her in the past? At this point she does not need an attorney, and even so, she needs to be working with on one the basis of consultation only, where the attorney charges by the hour if she does not need his services on a continual, ongoing basis.
 

lindacarroll

Junior Member
Contingency Fees

The son was named as the beneficiary when the will and trust were written in 1999. The husband remarried in 2001 but failed to update the will and trust. As an omitted spouse, I am assuming my friend has some rights to her late husband's estate especially since it was her labor and part of her money that went into the construction of the house. The house was not titled, only the land because her husband died before the house was completed. In fact, the house is still only 90% complete. When it became apparent that the stepson was asking for a large cash settlement, my friend hired an attorney to give her advice on her rights. She has only retain his services as of last week and he is still looking over the will and trust. The stepson is now stating he has hired a lawyer on a contingency basis and feels he is entitled to at least 50% of the estate.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Her lawyer can advise her properly. What the son "feels" does not truly apply here; he is entitled to whatever the will and trust says he will get and that will be decided in probate court and when the trust is administered. Of course as a spouse she is legally entitled to a share of the estate and she also needs to ask her attorney whether it would be to her benefit or not to have the home put into the trust (perhaps by the pour-over will if there is one) or not.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

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