QUESTION
If the lawyer never put his name for payment from the estate, can he come after my personal account or hurt my credit?
Asked on Feb 26th, 2014 on Estate Planning - Michigan
More details to this question:
My father passed away in April of 2010 and had to retain the services of a lawyer to open an estate because there was a second mortgage on his house. We retained his services for $1000.00. The house was sold in February 2012 and once the bank was paid left very little. Over a year later, I got a bill from that lawyer for $2500.00 which was unexpected since we had little contact with him once we hired him. My question is the lawyer never put his name for payment from the estate like the bank did. Since I’m the personal representative can he come after my personal account or hurt my credit. I really feel $3500.00 is a lot of money considering the little amount of work he did and being able to see everything I’m being billed for. Thanks.
13 ANSWERS
Criminal Law Attorney serving Los Angeles, CA
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J. Jeffrey Morris & Associates
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Pay your lawyer. He did his job and no that's not a large legal bill.
Answered on Mar 04th, 2014 at 3:17 AM
Commercial Attorney serving Chicago, IL
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Ashcraft & Ashcraft, Ltd.
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If a probate estate was opened then an attorney would have to represent the estate before the court in the probate case. As the attorney for the estate the lawyer would have an administrative claim that would have to be resolved before the estate could be closed. If there is a dispute as to the reasonableness of the attorney's fees that could be adjudicated by the court. The Court has the authority to approve reasonable fees. The fess are to be paid before the estate assets can be distributed to heirs. The attorney can follow a premature distribution to the distribute through the estate (the estate can try to pull the distribution back) or directly against the personal representative if the personal representative made the distribution improperly. The claim of the attorney would have to be valid and approved for this to occur. If you signed a personal services contract with the attorney and those services included representing you as the representative of the estate then the attorney could seek compensation directly from you. There is case law authority that allows the attorney to collect reasonable fees from the representative and then for the representative to be compensated by the estate.
Answered on Mar 03rd, 2014 at 5:08 PM
Taxation Law Attorney serving Glendale, CA
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Irsfeld, Irsfeld & Younger LLP
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If this was a probate estate, then he cannot charge anything not authorized by the court. Your facts do not make much sense if this was an estate. What do the court documents say?
Answered on Mar 03rd, 2014 at 4:52 PM
Trusts Attorney serving Sacramento, CA
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Law Office of Victor Waid
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Suggest you review all of your communications with the lawyer, and then make an appointment with him to determine the validity of the billing. Yes, you could be personally liable as the personal representative of the estate. Merely because he didn't put in a claim into escrow for payment, does not mean he is not still owed for his fees.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 10:03 PM
Many states have statutes that list the order in which bills of an estate have to be paid. The attorney's fees are usually near the top. You may be responsible for the bill if you are the person who engaged the attorney. Whether the attorney's bill is high depends on the work the attorney did for you and the rates of other attorneys doing similar work in the area. Just because you didn't have a lot of contact with the attorney doesn't mean much a lot of estate work is drafting and filing reports with the probate court, responding to creditor's demands, tracking down information, etc. If you think the bill is unreasonably high, ask other attorneys in the area what they would charge for similar work and if they would charge less, talk to your attorney.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 10:02 PM
2 Awards
It depends upon the fee agreement you signed. Also depends on whether it was a probate. Generally, probate fees can only be paid out of the estate, not from you personally. Probate is expensive however. Look at your fee agreement and if you feel he should not be charging that, ask for fee arbitration through the state bar of California.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:50 PM
Probate Attorney serving Newport, OR
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Minor, Bandonis & Haggerty P.C.
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In Oregon, the lawyer who represents the personal representative has to apply to the probate court for approval of his fees, if he plans to be paid out of the estate. Some Oregon lawyers say it is okay to expect the personal representative to pay out of his pocket, but that probably should have been made clear up front. Look at the engagement letter that was presented at the beginning of the representation. Maybe suggest fee arbitration through the bar.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:49 PM
Commercial Contracts Attorney serving Boise, ID
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Peters Law, PLLC
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If you hired him to represent you, even if as personal representative, you owe him. However, you may want to file a complaint with your state's bar association if he breached his fee agreement with you. They may get him to reduce his fee if he really did no work or billed you improperly. However, if you got a good result, even if little money was left, then he may very well have earned his fee.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:49 PM
Edwin K. Niles
He doesn't have to file a creditor's claim as the charges were incurred after death. In a probate proceeding the fees are governed by statute, and are subject to court approval. When he closed the probate he should have included a request for approval of fees. Therefore, your question is not sounding sensible to me. I would ask for an explanation.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:47 PM
3 Awards
He is an administrative claim not a creditor. He does not need to make a claim. I suggest you review your fee agreement. If there is still an issue and you cannot resolve it, go to Probate Court or the State Bar.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:46 PM
Thomas Edward Gates
Has a declaration of completion been done? If so, then he cannot charge you. In any event, the estate owes the money, not you. If there was no more money left after you paid the second mortgage, the estate would insolvent. The $3,500 is a lot of money for a simple probate.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:46 PM
Business Planning Attorney serving Livonia, MI
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Frederick & Frederick Attorneys at Law
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In my opinion, $3,500 is a nominal amount, for probate work. It typically takes about 30 hours worth of work to probate an estate. Did you have a written fee agreement with the lawyer? Were you expecting to pay less? I do not see a basis for not paying, unless the estate is insolvent. If there were no assets in the estate, then I think the lawyer is out of luck. Otherwise, he is probably entitled to be paid.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:45 PM
As the personal representative, you are probably responsible for the attorneys fees. You should have signed a fee letter. If you did not, then the attorney would have a difficult time collecting.
Answered on Feb 28th, 2014 at 9:45 PM