attorney back tracking in thoughts

[Naturalmom]

What is the name of your state?NJ while atty tried to get a consent order signed that was drawn up in meeting with both parties. NCP has decided not to sign, atty was strong with thoughts of major issues needed to be resolved custody , support, etc.. Now not feeling so strong, because custody is in FRO, support is at higher rate until one of us brings it into court(father refuses to supply ordered paperwork concerning business) and the etc, not so important,EX parent coordinator, childs activities , therapy,. Father has been no compliant to all orders from court and found in contempt several times. Then in next breath now saying well we could go to trial and motions but you need to get your bill more current as well as another retainer. MY take on this he is not willing to represent because he WANTS MONEY, the reason bill went up is the time spent for the "consent order" that was not going to be signed I knew ex would never sign just yes you to death and thumb his nose on the way out the door. So now what? New lawyer, more debt, let him make the move and go from there?

 

[Naturalmom]

just bumping

 

[stealth2]

Well, it shouldn't be a surprise that the lawyer wants to be paid for what s/he has already done before doing more work. These situations aren't cheap, nor can they be done on the fly. I racked up close to 20k in legal fees (in NJ) for a CS mod because the ex played games. Yes, he ended up paying a good portion of my fees, but my lawyer quite rightly expected to be paid until it came to that.

 

[Naturalmom]

actually the bill is 5k right now I have spent well over 60k with bs false charges, noncompliance, cs, and he is getting paid monthly because as anyone knows thier hourly rates are far higher then the average person hourly rate and takes a little while to keep getting the chunks of money. Frankly in the past year 10k has been spent and nothing has changed from the first day in court to resolve and end this. But I was told there will come a day when the child won't go because of the nonsense going on and "thats when things will change" since his attempts to poison her idea of me are in reality poisioning her against him since he and stepmothe and child are very abusive verbally toward her and each other so she is recognizing the difference in both places. But that still doesn't fix the problem at hand NOW>

 

[LdiJ]

actually the bill is 5k right now I have spent well over 60k with bs false charges, noncompliance, cs, and he is getting paid monthly because as anyone knows thier hourly rates are far higher then the average person hourly rate and takes a little while to keep getting the chunks of money. Frankly in the past year 10k has been spent and nothing has changed from the first day in court to resolve and end this. But I was told there will come a day when the child won't go because of the nonsense going on and "thats when things will change" since his attempts to poison her idea of me are in reality poisioning her against him since he and stepmothe and child are very abusive verbally toward her and each other so she is recognizing the difference in both places. But that still doesn't fix the problem at hand NOW>

If you have really spent 60k on your fight so far....then you might want to consider getting a consult with another attorney. I am not saying that you have a bad attorney....but that is a heck of alot of money to have spent without any solid results.

 

[stealth2]

Maybe, maybe not, LDi. It often takes a lot of dealing with bs before anything substantial happens. $60k is a lot. But I can see how it would add up, and relatively quickly, if the other side stalls, continues, etc. My attorney cut me a lot of breaks because she found my ex to be so despicable she enjoyed going against him. Not to say it wouldn't be worth consulting with another attorney - it would be. But I could see it getting to that number easily.

NaturalMom..... while your lawyer may command an hourly rate higher than most "normal" people, remember that it also covers a lot of overhead. That hourly rate also goes towards rent, utilities, salaries of associates, paralegals, secretaries, etc. So it isn't the same as your Joe Employee who gets $20/hr.

 

[LdiJ]

Maybe, maybe not, LDi. It often takes a lot of dealing with bs before anything substantial happens. $60k is a lot. But I can see how it would add up, and relatively quickly, if the other side stalls, continues, etc. My attorney cut me a lot of breaks because she found my ex to be so despicable she enjoyed going against him. Not to say it wouldn't be worth consulting with another attorney - it would be. But I could see it getting to that number easily.

NaturalMom..... while your lawyer may command an hourly rate higher than most "normal" people, remember that it also covers a lot of overhead. That hourly rate also goes towards rent, utilities, salaries of associates, paralegals, secretaries, etc. So it isn't the same as your Joe Employee who gets $20/hr.

I understand the point that you are making...I know at least half a dozen parents who spent more than 150k defending grandparent visitation cases (all pre-Troxel) and none of them were due to attorneys dragging things out.

However...what she has spent is getting really "up there"...and a consult with another attorney wouldn't hurt.

 

[Naturalmom]

I will start looking around and asking others experiance locally and do a consult just to test the waters, I hope they don't offer the moon and once the retainer is done deliver exactly what I have already. He is trying to bankrupt me though esecailly going pro'se recently.

 

[LdiJ]

I will start looking around and asking others experiance locally and do a consult just to test the waters, I hope they don't offer the moon and once the retainer is done deliver exactly what I have already. He is trying to bankrupt me though esecailly going pro'se recently.

Well...you could certainly do the same and go pro se as well.

 

[Naturalmom]

yes I might , but I know myself enough that in court situations my nerves get the best of me as well as I don't have the finess about preparing paperwork. It might be a money saver but in the end I think it will hurt my case. So many things to work through.