Money F@#K Attorneys - A cautionary tale.

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 03-05-2015, 09:10 AM

This is the story about how my parents lost a $500,000 inheritance through no fault of their own.

My grandmother (RIP) had a boyfriend of over 20 years. They'd have ben married but for the impact on social security and all that. My grandmother died in 2010, and her boyfriend lived on. For the last 4 years my parents took care of him as blood after Grandma died. They shuttled him to the VA for all his appointments, cooked for him, did anything that was needed. In 2012 his health deteriorated and he went into the hospital and it looked grim. The tough SOB gutted it out and pulled through. At that time it was determined that he could no longer live alone in rural Douglas County, so my parents spend a good sum of money and turned part of their basement into an apartment for him. He thrived and his health improved.

He had been a bachelor and had no children, only distant cousins and nephews who ignored him and did nothing to aid. He told my parents numerous times that he was so blessed to have them to take care of him. For the last 2 years he lived in their home, rent free, and they fed him, provided for him. All along he made it known that his entire estate would be theirs, including several valuable antique autos and tons of other assets.

Sadly in August of last year, he passed away in my mothers arms after having a stroke. My parents were executors and sole heirs to his estate. They entrusted the small town attorney that had drafted his will to handle the probate. Over the ensuing months my family and parents (who are in their 70s themselves) have worked hundreds of hours to clean and organize his home as he was a hoarder. We hauled off over 20 tons of trash from the home, tirelessly combing the contents for anything of value to put in an auction. We didn't get to the numerous outbuildings before winter, which are chock full of antique autos and parts.

Early estimates from trusted experts and auctioneer placed the conservative value at $400-500k at auction, which was to be held this spring.

Over the past 6 months my parents have contact the attorney numerous times and were assured everything was being handled. They took a month long vacation to Florida in February to get some relaxation time before my wife and I's second child arrives tomorrow.

They hadn't heard from the attorney all month long, and the estimated 6 months of probate was up. Finally after not getting any kind of response again, my mother became concerned. She contacted the county clerk and inquired as to when the date was set for the execution of the probate and was told nothing had been filed.

For 6 months the attorney assured my trusting parents that it was being handled. She strung them along, ultimately lying to them on Wednesday about being in court all day and unavailable. My parents drove to the small town on a whim and stopped at her office. No answer to the knocking. They left and drove around the block, and the attorney came out to leave. My parents confronted her and she confessed that in 6 months she had neglected to file the will with the county. Something that takes a matter of a few hours work. There is a 6 month limit to do so after death. The will is invalid, and the estate will revert to the same distant heirs which ignored this man his entire 90 years of life.

A second attorney consulted yesterday believes my parents can get reimbursed by the estate for any expenses they incurred while acting in good faith as executors. They have paid out thousands in utility bills and maintenance on the property, in cleaning it up for sale, in travel expenses.

The attorney is a one-person office. No malpractice insurance. Probably not a dime to their name.

So the moral of the story is, don't just TRUST that someone is acting professionally on your behalf. Demand to see hard proof that action is being taken and that you are being served by those you are paying to act on your behalf. My parents appear to have ZERO recourse for what was done to them.

My stomach is in knots. I feel badly for my parents. They have pensions and live comfortably, but this could have provided them with added security. They had also indicated of course that my sister and I would receive a substantial amount of this as inheritance, which was going to essentially pay for my childrens education. Now, that is not going to happen.

TL;DR. **** attorneys. My poor parents. FML.

**Lzen** · 03-05-2015, 09:16 AM

Well, that sucks, Mike. Like in all professions, some are just terrible at their job.

Eleazar · 03-05-2015, 09:18 AM

They need to talk to a real attorney about the damages they have incurred from her malpractice.

Chiefnj2 · 03-05-2015, 09:20 AM

File a complaint with the state board of bar examiners. There might be malpractice insurance.

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 03-05-2015, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

File a complaint with the state board of bar examiners. There might be malpractice insurance.

no malpractice insurance.

double edge sword - if she gets disbarred as she ought to be, there goes any income source.

Amnorix · 03-05-2015, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

no malpractice insurance.

double edge sword - if she gets disbarred as she ought to be, there goes any income source.

I wouldn't pay for a malpractice claim to be brought. If you can find someone to take it on contingency, do that. Otherwise you just risk doubling down on spending money for no pot of gold.

Katipan · 03-05-2015, 09:39 AM

My attorney is a very very very small town attorney. However he used to be the county attorney and spent a good portion of his first years in that role (20 years ago) putting my ex-psycho in jail. He's also a man.

So it worked really well for me.

Chiefnj2 · 03-05-2015, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats.

no malpractice insurance.

double edge sword - if she gets disbarred as she ought to be, there goes any income source.

How do you know she doesn't have insurance? Because she told you? She also told you she was handling the estate? I wouldn't trust anything she says.

Eleazar · 03-05-2015, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

How do you know she doesn't have insurance? Because she told you? She also told you she was handling the estate? I wouldn't trust anything she says.

There's no trusting this person, so I would play every option out.

If this were me and she has a net worth of $5, I want the $5.

Amnorix · 03-05-2015, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

There's no trusting this person, so I would play every option out.

If this were me and she has a net worth of $5, I want the $5.

Problem is it may cost you thousands to get the $5, which is a pyrrhic victory to say the least.

rocknrolla · 03-05-2015, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

File a complaint with the state board of bar examiners. There might be malpractice insurance.

And get the lazy bitch disbarred!

Chief_For_Life58 · 03-05-2015, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

File a complaint with the state board of bar examiners. There might be malpractice insurance.

wait yea, you cant get another lawyer and sew that small town lawyer for not doing her job? man thats ****ed up! im sorry. At least you guys didnt desperately need the money. Your parents sound like very nice people

Mr. Laz · 03-05-2015, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cochise

They need to talk to a real attorney about the damages they have incurred from her malpractice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

File a complaint with the state board of bar examiners. There might be malpractice insurance.

these

**Canofbier** · 03-05-2015, 09:20 AM

Dang, that's very unfortunate. That attorney has no right to be handling people's wills if that's the kind of care she puts into them.

I agree that your folks should have some means of getting that money after all, but it's a damn shame that they need to pour additional hours into it.

**mikeyis4dcats.** · 03-05-2015, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canofbier

Dang, that's very unfortunate. That attorney has no right to be handling people's wills if that's the kind of care she puts into them.

I agree that your folks should have some means of getting that money after all, but it's a damn shame that they need to pour additional hours into it.

additional hours @ $250/hr a that.

but no, they have been told by a very good probate attorney here that the $500k is gone. He said there is an extremely small chance they could argue that the repeated assertions by him over the years that since they were taking care of him he was leaving him his estate was a verbal contract, but that is very tenuous. He said they might hope to recover south of a $100k for reimbursement of executor expenses, and perhaps some funds from a state fund for people screwed over by lawyers, but that is also slight.

03-05-2015, 09:10 AM	Topic Starter
mikeyis4dcats. Scarlett Johansson's boytoy Join Date: Nov 2006 Casino cash: $9555998	F@#K Attorneys - A cautionary tale. This is the story about how my parents lost a $500,000 inheritance through no fault of their own. My grandmother (RIP) had a boyfriend of over 20 years. They'd have ben married but for the impact on social security and all that. My grandmother died in 2010, and her boyfriend lived on. For the last 4 years my parents took care of him as blood after Grandma died. They shuttled him to the VA for all his appointments, cooked for him, did anything that was needed. In 2012 his health deteriorated and he went into the hospital and it looked grim. The tough SOB gutted it out and pulled through. At that time it was determined that he could no longer live alone in rural Douglas County, so my parents spend a good sum of money and turned part of their basement into an apartment for him. He thrived and his health improved. He had been a bachelor and had no children, only distant cousins and nephews who ignored him and did nothing to aid. He told my parents numerous times that he was so blessed to have them to take care of him. For the last 2 years he lived in their home, rent free, and they fed him, provided for him. All along he made it known that his entire estate would be theirs, including several valuable antique autos and tons of other assets. Sadly in August of last year, he passed away in my mothers arms after having a stroke. My parents were executors and sole heirs to his estate. They entrusted the small town attorney that had drafted his will to handle the probate. Over the ensuing months my family and parents (who are in their 70s themselves) have worked hundreds of hours to clean and organize his home as he was a hoarder. We hauled off over 20 tons of trash from the home, tirelessly combing the contents for anything of value to put in an auction. We didn't get to the numerous outbuildings before winter, which are chock full of antique autos and parts. Early estimates from trusted experts and auctioneer placed the conservative value at $400-500k at auction, which was to be held this spring. Over the past 6 months my parents have contact the attorney numerous times and were assured everything was being handled. They took a month long vacation to Florida in February to get some relaxation time before my wife and I's second child arrives tomorrow. They hadn't heard from the attorney all month long, and the estimated 6 months of probate was up. Finally after not getting any kind of response again, my mother became concerned. She contacted the county clerk and inquired as to when the date was set for the execution of the probate and was told nothing had been filed. For 6 months the attorney assured my trusting parents that it was being handled. She strung them along, ultimately lying to them on Wednesday about being in court all day and unavailable. My parents drove to the small town on a whim and stopped at her office. No answer to the knocking. They left and drove around the block, and the attorney came out to leave. My parents confronted her and she confessed that in 6 months she had neglected to file the will with the county. Something that takes a matter of a few hours work. There is a 6 month limit to do so after death. The will is invalid, and the estate will revert to the same distant heirs which ignored this man his entire 90 years of life. A second attorney consulted yesterday believes my parents can get reimbursed by the estate for any expenses they incurred while acting in good faith as executors. They have paid out thousands in utility bills and maintenance on the property, in cleaning it up for sale, in travel expenses. The attorney is a one-person office. No malpractice insurance. Probably not a dime to their name. So the moral of the story is, don't just TRUST that someone is acting professionally on your behalf. Demand to see hard proof that action is being taken and that you are being served by those you are paying to act on your behalf. My parents appear to have ZERO recourse for what was done to them. My stomach is in knots. I feel badly for my parents. They have pensions and live comfortably, but this could have provided them with added security. They had also indicated of course that my sister and I would receive a substantial amount of this as inheritance, which was going to essentially pay for my childrens education. Now, that is not going to happen. TL;DR. **** attorneys. My poor parents. FML.
Posts: 12,526

03-05-2015, 09:16 AM	#2
Lzen Banded Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oz Casino cash: $1130692	Well, that sucks, Mike. Like in all professions, some are just terrible at their job. __________________ Conversation would be vastly improved by the constant use of four simple words: I do not know.
Posts: 41,862

03-05-2015, 09:18 AM	#3
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	They need to talk to a real attorney about the damages they have incurred from her malpractice.
Posts: 80,659

03-05-2015, 09:20 AM	#4
Chiefnj2 In Search of a Life Join Date: Mar 2007 Casino cash: $7684388	File a complaint with the state board of bar examiners. There might be malpractice insurance. __________________ Mismanaging the clock.
Posts: 22,412

03-05-2015, 09:39 AM	#7
Katipan MER Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Colorado Casino cash: $1400351	My attorney is a very very very small town attorney. However he used to be the county attorney and spent a good portion of his first years in that role (20 years ago) putting my ex-psycho in jail. He's also a man. So it worked really well for me. __________________ "Loving him is red."
Posts: 23,301

03-05-2015, 09:20 AM	#14
Canofbier ¡RIOS MIO! Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Minneapolis Casino cash: $5056981	Dang, that's very unfortunate. That attorney has no right to be handling people's wills if that's the kind of care she puts into them. I agree that your folks should have some means of getting that money after all, but it's a damn shame that they need to pour additional hours into it.
Posts: 4,307