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Being compensated by deceased lawyer maybe?

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  • Being compensated by deceased lawyer maybe?

    I was given some info the other day.
    My past lawyer passed away in may of this year .He apparently did not file anything for me previous to this and after the court date we had .
    I am in a battle now with the courts on ss ,which was awarded to ex by me not being at a court date in july.I was unaware of this court date.
    My current lawyer has told me that i could get compensated for his actions for his lack of input and the damage he has caused me in this case and might be reimbursed by his insurance .
    I have since contacted the lsoc and they do know my case ,and also my lawyer has sent them a letter also.
    I am also thinking of reporting my ex's lawyer to lsoc about not having my ex inform the courts on this july court about my lawyer being deceased.My ex is self repping now but her lawyer was still on as her lawyer as of july but self repped at this court date. My lawyer asked her about if she knew about his death and she said yes after a search and before this court date in july,she did not put in for her dismissal for repping until after my lawyer contacted her in late aug.

    My questions are 1. has anyone ever sued or been compensated by a lawyers insurance or is there a different fund .

    question 2 .. should i report my ex's lawyer as this gave her an upper hand in courts and blindsided me ,by not being at court on that date .The judge just called for my name at court but if i dont know about it ,how can i be there.

    I am currently in court next week on the past motion for ss , to cancel but it is at fro already and garnisheeing my wage oct. 1 .
    There was no real mention to courts that I have the 2 kids living with me full time and the ex has nothing really to do with them except the occaisional visit or text.
    By the way it is pretty bad when you phone the lsoc and you say your name and they remember you,and they are trying to get info together for me. ,, I feel that is one part of government that is a good service .
    It is going to be a tough next month but i think I will not bounce my mortgage and most bills ,things were going good until fro got involved.
    thanks for any responses ,from a single dad supporting 2 kids solely with no cs yet.

  • #2
    I can't speak for everyone, but this would be pretty rare territory. I think many people have wanted compensation from their lawyer, but not received it. I can't help think this will take a long long time, the LSOC moves slowly, and since a black mark against a lawyer smears the whole profession, they are very deliberate.

    I think your best move is to go for CS, immediately. Surely this could be in an emergency motion, if your children's health and wellbeing is at risk.

    Comment


    • #3
      No my first lawyer is deceased ,and i have already talked with lsoc about the mess he left me in,he did not file my forms for me when he was suppose too, that is why i am paying ss and there is no mention of cs yet, and he was suppose to file my things before he died.
      This is the problem that i am in now. The judge had no files from me.

      But on another note, in the july 30 trial ,they called my name as stated in the court documents . Question- if I wasnt served to be there how could i know to be there that date.. I was considered guilty without defending myself. Isnt it innocent until proven guilty but at least have a chance to defend your self.. ?

      Also I would not do the lsoc on her lawyer until it goes my way ..

      Comment


      • #4
        I don't believe there is any 'guilt or innocence' in family law, it's about the best interest of the children. It's standard practice that if one party does not file a reply to an application, that it is considered undisputed.

        Comment


        • #5
          Well you tell me where the best interest in the children were involved when the judge decided to give ss to a person that was not there ever and to date.!
          I never asked for cs ,I was handling things.
          Lawyer was dead .
          New lawyer now.
          Miss the point.

          Comment


          • #6
            No point missed at all. You asked 'innocent until proven guilty?', i answered.

            Next.

            Comment


            • #7
              Sorry missing your point, so the judge didnt care who was caring for children and didnt ask who was ,in which i was..?and then decided to take ss for which i cannot afford and take from the children that i solely care for,

              Sorry not understanding your response,clarify please,I am guilty of looking after my children solely and not asking for cs and then being taken advantage of by ss on me being on a pension.?
              Not trying to cause a problem here just need some better answer then next

              Comment


              • #8
                The judge ruled solely on the information supplied, which is all they CAN do, it was clearly a motion for SS, THAT is what he addressed. With no reply or additional information provided, what is it you expected him to do...?


                There is no innocent or guilty, simply procedure. You really need to step back from the emotional aspect and consider the rational, process driven approach under which the judge base their orders. The judge didn't do anything wrong, you were not 'found guilty', the judge's decision was based on the limited information provided.

                Instead of trying to figure out who is wrong-er, who to blame and who to sue, you should be spending the time figuring out how to move forward in a positive way to secure CS for the kids.

                Get off the emotional roller coaster and get your head in the game

                Comment


                • #9
                  Having just gone through a similar situation in that the lawyer did not do the "job expected by the courts" did not provide the judge with any USABLE information that was acceptable (ie. to provide adequate documentation to support the position taken for any particular court hearing. I was hurt by what this lawyer did not do, I admit to having some specific issues that could make it harder for the lawyer to do their job to which I would later learn that I had in fact given this lawyer good disclosure with supporting documentation and like yourself, the majority never made it to the judge who was then charged with making a decision. How can we blame a judge for making a decision based on what was presented both in terms of supporting documentation and oral submissions.

                  I can only say in my case the judge was very specific in the written order that she did make with respect to SS and that was "This temporary order for SS was just that. More important I think is it was made very clear that this amount would not have any bearing on the final amount that will be ordered at the appropriate time later in the process. Does it make it really tough for me at this point given my very limited disability income - you bet!! But the damage is done for now - there is no looking back, just trying to survive and move forward.

                  Bummer that all this time I thought it was me, or the difficulty was with me, to be later informed by my new lawyer who is doing his job; that I in fact did a pretty darn good job at disclosing to my lawyer - too bad my lawyer elected to do nothing with it and I would only find all this out after the fact.

                  In the meantime, I did get some , ok lots of help from several lawyers at the courthouse and I had the lawyer's invoices assessed for reasonableness and without going the civil route (I believe this is an option) the assessment process is the only way you may see some of your fees returned to you. (granted I have no idea how the death of the lawyer in question affects this process) The only real disappointing thing I found was only the work carried out and invoiced by the lawyer is eligible for assessment - work not carried out or work not invoiced will not be "caught" by the assessment process and this again is where our stories are quite similar.

                  I also agree with the advice I received here regarding anything to do with the LSOC body and that is they are not interested in your issues one bit - they are there to protect the lawyer's position and any remedial action might be a slap on the lawyer's wrist but it will not compensate you in any way. The insurance you refer to is also very specific and that covers only the worst of the worst in complete fraud on the part of the lawyer by his/her use of your retainer on deposit to say pay for that wonderful world trip vacation and then not representing you at least in terms of using your retainer to move your case forward. My guess is, yes there is an insurance scheme setup there but in reality is most likely accessed on the behalf of the client only on the very rare circumstance that everything falls into place against the lawyer. Others may have a softer opinion on the governing body - this was only my experience.....

                  I do not blame the court or the judge, (it did take me a while to get over being charged costs for my lawyer not doing his job, I came to see this as my warning by the judge as doing me the greatest service she was able - that my lawyer was not doing his job and it gave me the chance to put an end to it - I am very thankful for this new lawyer that for the first time in nearly two years that I feel I am actually "quality representation". As far as the judges go, I may be wrong, but they are not required to step in and "correct any wrongs occurring in their courtrooms - this is the job of either yourself as you self represent or your lawyer in which you hired to do this work on your behalf.....

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                  • #10
                    Blink and i agone, I am not taking any offense to your posts at all ,I need the input on these matters. I agree with you that he only had her info in front of her and his decision was based on her presentation,my main point is ,I wasnt there to defend myself because of not knowing of this court date,they called my name so was i summoned or served (no) .I am dealing with court this week on the ss , we are going for cs ,I am not even caring about my deceased lawyer anymore and I am focused on the situation at hand ,I am on damage control now .
                    My god , i thought i was having a heart attack over this situation or something,but at least talking with my new lawyer now, I see the light at the end of tunnel.
                    I worry about one thing, having a good safe home for my kids to live in ,providing for them as best i can.. this judgement changes that. simple.
                    Hopefully it works itself out this week but too late for garnishee on my pension.I have to do my best for my kids.
                    Thanks for the input ,i do not grudge it and appreciate it ,that is why this forum is here...

                    ddol1 ,I appreciate your comment also, I would just like to get my retainer back and that is it,it is in the process ,as his bill was not in his files at all, so now i have to call my provider for this info ,, and see what he put in for .
                    I have a freind who had same lawyer also ,he did nothing for him also and in same boat,never filed anything and we thought it was done..
                    I am looking forward to this court this week and hopefully i have some good news for myself ,I need it for a change because frankly the last couple of months have been stressful having this over my head.
                    Will let you know how things turned out..

                    Comment

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