Peter_Parker
recently joined
Reged: 06/14/07
Posts: 5
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Hi, my cousin recently got divorced. She is living with me now and we collectively bear our expenses, largely me. The presumed cost that her divorce would cost was told of 5K maximum not beyond that by her lawyer whereas the actual cost went over 12K!
I don’t know, how? What he promised completely contradicts what actually happened, in fact most of the work was done by his assistance and paralegals and he offered awful service though.
Should he be given the remaining bill of 6K? Any way out? Help Plz!:confused:
Thanks.
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googledad
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 12/31/05
Posts: 10207
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Hi, my cousin recently got divorced. She is living with me now and we collectively bear our expenses, largely me. The presumed cost that her divorce would cost was told of 5K maximum not beyond that by her lawyer whereas the actual cost went over 12K!
>>>>>>>>>>>>> That's common , how difficult was the case ? At reasonable rates of $200-300/hour your talking between 40-60 billable hours .
I don’t know, how? What he promised completely contradicts what actually happened, in fact most of the work was done by his assistance and paralegals and he offered awful service though.
>>>>>>>>>>>>What was the hourly rate ? How much were any filing fees ? Was there a signed retainer ?
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Careful. We don't want to learn from this.
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Drew
old hand
Reged: 07/30/07
Posts: 1017
Loc: somewhere more familiar
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It just goes with the territory.
My atty told me he had NEVER had a case (divorce) that went over 6k. Maybe that is why after 7k he quit on me.
I hired another who never one time put a figure on the case.
He requested x number of dollars retainer and then billed according to his hours.
Attorneys, like every other profession are not necessarily good or bad, legitimate or illegitimate. It is all dependant on you to research, interview and make a choice.
I learned the hard way. Nearly cost me my kids.
They are not fortune tellers and can give advice/perspective etc. based on their experience. Each case being different, if another atty guaranteed or assured me how much or little their services would cost with all the variables involved in something like a divorce, I would say thank you for your time and look elsewhere.
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"living, learning, from my creator. you gave me life now show me how to live" c. cornell
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1004SRS
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 12/11/06
Posts: 5044
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Everytime you call your lawyer you get billed. Everytime your lawyer gets a letter and opens it you are billed. Any contact is billing time.
I rarely called my attorney. When we did meet, I was prepared. I did a lot of my own research. It cost a lot less than the average divorce.
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SCgirl
enthusiast
Reged: 01/27/08
Posts: 334
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I think it depends on how complicated the case is. I am already in the hole for $12.5K and that's just been since September and it looks like a long road ahead. This latest bill was a real wake up call as I had exhausted the retainer.
1004 is right. They nickle and dime you for everything. My attorney charges in 20 minute increments so now I've learned not to call him for "a quick question". I make my list and save up my twenty minutes worth and then call him.
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PhoenixRising
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 01/05/07
Posts: 3681
Loc: New York
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The retainer agreement that she signed created a liability for the total bill. She cannot get out of it now...
The only way she could have limited her bill to $6k would be have the lawyer sign a stipulation to that effect... (in which case, like Drew said, he would have just quit and the rest would have had to be paid to another lawyer)...
I think I heard somewhere that the "average" divorce costs between $10-12 if no trial is involved (Once you go to trial, add another $100k to that number)...
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Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. --Plato
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