Q: Who Owes Who?
I was paying installments for a family member who then passed away after just 3 court appearances. It was a fixed fee representation from the outset through to defending them at trial. I had paid $21k from a $25k fee agreement.
Can the attorney come after me for the additional $4k? Is it reasonable to have paid $21k for three appearances? Honestly, it doesn't feel right for the attorney to benefit from their clients death. At the same time I don't know anything about how the law works around this.
I tried to contact the attorney and he has not responded.
A:
The written fee agreement should contain provisions within it addressing (1) whether the fee had been fully-earned upon signing the agreement and precluding them from other employment due to the nature of this case and its requirements and (2) the full scope of what representation entails and how that fee is otherwise earned if not when the agreement was signed.
Your family member should have been given a copy of the fee agreement when he/she signed it. If any other person was a co-signor on the debt owed, they should have their own copy of the agreement to look at and see what the provisions within it say.
Right now the attorney may be reluctant to talk to you about this matter until they are informed that you are the person representing the probate estate of your family member and have the authority to discuss debts owed or business agreements signed by that person. That would include matters concerning whether or not the other $4,000 is owed on the fee agreement and/or any possible refunds if allowed by the fee agreement or by the law firm refunding those amounts by choice. While you may have been someone helping to make payments on the debt, that alone will not satisfy the requirement of whether or not you are the designated person that will be in charge of sorting through your loved one's financial estate and having the right to discuss things, including this fee agreement.
A: I doubt the attorney will ask for the remaining money, Most our work is done outside the courtroom . The attorney may of earned the fee you gave him,
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