Lawyers mistake

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

Need advice on problems with my lawyer. I hired a lawyer for my divorce, paid the $3000 retainer, and over the next year paid an additional $2500. When the final hearing came, the divorce was granted.

I come to find out later, that my lawyer had made a huge mistake in the "precise wording" for the visitation of the minor children. The kids were to have full discretion for visitation. If they wanted to go they could, but could say no to overnights. Well My lawyer only put "full discretion" in the first sentence regarding weekends, not in each paragraph regarding holidays and summer. When I pointed this out to him before I signed the papers, he said it only had to be in the first sentence, that it carried over to all visitation. Niave (sp) as I was at the time, I believed him.

When the ex went into one of his tyrades and the kids didnt want to stay with him overnight, I found out that "kids discretion" needed to be put into every single sentence. The judge said the visitation stands as it is and she will not change it. My ex is using this mistake to his advantage, to control and dictate to me when he will see the children.

My lawyer said since it was his mistake, he would fix it. He has been unable to. He also said since it was his mistake, he would not charge me for having to go back to court for the contempt filings my ex had filed. The contempts were dismissed and I was not found guilty, but have been ordered to force the kids to go with their father for extended periods of time. The relationship between them is strained as it is due to ex's violent anger issues.

And to top it all off, I get a bill for $2300 from the lawyer who said he would not charge me for his mistake. Not once did he ask for money over the last year.

Do I have any recourse since it was my lawyers mistake?

Would getting another lawyer altogether help me?

Most likely another attorney would not be able to help you. Ohio does NOT like allowing children to dictate visitation.

You should have read the documents .. 6K seems like a good price for a divorce

I did read the documents. When I brought it to my lawyers attention, he said it was OK. He misinformed me, and admitted he screwed up after the fact.

3greatkids said:

I did read the documents. When I brought it to my lawyers attention, he said it was OK. He misinformed me, and admitted he screwed up after the fact.

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Well you should told him its not OK....too late now...you signed off on it

3greatkids said:

When the ex went into one of his tyrades and the kids didnt want to stay with him overnight

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Define "tirades". Just because Dad yells at the kids and makes them do things they do not want to do does not make him a bad parent. If, on the other hand, he is abusive, then this issue needs to be addressed with your attorney. Or another attorney. Or the police, if appropriate.

Ohiogal said:

Most likely another attorney would not be able to help you. Ohio does NOT like allowing children to dictate visitation.

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The children do not have to LIKE going to visit or staying overnight, but sometimes it is necessary in order to maintain a relationship with the absent parent. Again, it's not up to the kids, and they should not be allowed to dictate the rules for the parents here.

3greatkids said:

I did read the documents. When I brought it to my lawyers attention, he said it was OK. He misinformed me, and admitted he screwed up after the fact.

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George1776 said:

Well you should told him its not OK....too late now...you signed off on it

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X2...

If you have an issue with something like this, it's as much your responsibility as theirs to make damn sure it's not going to affect the outcome negatively. I would have said, "Oh, just change it for each sentence. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I would just like to be sure." Or I would have addressed my concerns during the court proceedings so that they could have made the amendment on the documents right then and there when you made your point.

But to just sign off on it, then that makes you just as responsible for the error as the attorney, because you accepted what you knew to be a mistake. Attorneys make mistakes occasionally, and even common sense dictates that you speak up to make sure your point is made.

sandyclaus said:

But to just sign off on it, then that makes you just as responsible for the error as the attorney, because you accepted what you knew to be a mistake. Attorneys make mistakes occasionally, and even common sense dictates that you speak up to make sure your point is made.

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Dude says: man, I knew I should not have signed that confession

Other Dude: You want last rights young man

...... ouch