Q: I am taking my previous tax attorney to small claims court for what I think is excessive billing with no results on a
tax issue: Failure to return calls in a timely manner, making a mistake and billing to remedy it, failure to properly inform IRS of POA for my parents (This is their issue, not mine), and the inability to properly access the account to keep me informed.
Is there anything I should know? In other words, is this normal "behavior" for an attorney? I am suing for the return of the retainer, $2500. He charged me $3250.
A:
Hi!
Few things, if you requested access to the case file and had authorization, being your parents’ issue not yours, then an attorney must provide access.
When it comes to submitting POAs to the IRS I would confirm whether the issue was on the attorney’s end or the IRS’. From experience I have noticed that the CAF unit (where POAs are processed) can take months to fully process an POA. I have actually had instances where it just was never done on their end for whatever reason. I however keep fax confirmation for proof I did submit the POAs.
It’s not uncommon for an attorney to request more funds outside of a retainer. I would review your contact regarding fees.
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