More details to this question:
My sibling's probate closed and I was one of the beneficiaries. I want to rate the attorney who handled the estate, but attorney has blocked my attempts on several sites, advising those sites that I was not a client and if that is so, per their Terms [some quite unclear], I cannot rate. Waivers were signed by all giving one sibling the power of being the PR. However, I was intensely involved with the development. Further, I believe I would be a client since I paid for services rendered by a charge taken out of my amount as beneficiary to pay this attorney's fee. Any help? http://thelawdictionary.org What is CLIENT? (Black's Law Dictionary) A person who employs or retains an attorney, or counselor, to appear for him in courts, advise, assist, and defend him in legal proceedings, and to act for him in any legal business. McCreary v. Iloopes, 25 Miss. 428; McFarland v. Crar.v, 0 Wend. (N. Y.) 297; Cross v. Riggins, 50 Mo. 335
1 ANSWER
Who did the attorney represent? This would be reflected in the retainer agreement with the attorney. From what you've written, it is most likely that the attorney represented your sibling's estate, in which case you were not his/her client. BTW, although it is possible for someone other than the client to pay the attorneys' fees (for example, parents often hire attorneys to represent their children), if the attorney represented the estate, I would have expected the estate to pay the fees, not you individually.
Answered on Apr 27th, 2015 at 8:17 AM