E198 How to Change Your Probate Lawyer

<p>You may be surprised to learn that we receive requests quite often from people who wish to change their probate lawyer. This was the exact situation one of our clients was facing recently. “Linda” started her probate case with another lawyer but realized along the way that he was not doing a good job. So, she reached out to us to take over the case. Here’s a look at how that works.</p> <p>First, from our perspective, changing firms is a double-edge sword for a lawyer. As a rule of thumb, attorneys do not particularly like to take clients who have fired their previous attorney, as it could potentially be a red flag. On the other hand, if a client has been legitimately been deprived by a past attorney, they are grateful to have help and are a pleasure to work with, as is the case with Linda.</p> <h2>“Linda’s” story</h2> <p>Linda hired a “flat-fee” probate lawyer, which she thought was a great deal. However, after 9 months, Linda realized the lawyer had not done much. She also learned he didn’t really know what he was doing. For example, he hadn’t <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/e193-what-happens-when-your-partner-dies-and-youre-not-married/"> notified any heirs</a>, collected any of the preliminary financial documents, or even gathered the basic information, which is typically what seasoned probate attorneys do right away. That led Linda to seek out another lawyer. Not only did she want a new lawyer to help her, but she also wanted to recoup as much of her “flat-fee” as possible. After all, not much had been done in 9 months.</p> <h2>How To Change Lawyers In The Middle Of A Case</h2> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-9296" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/how-to-change-lawyers-in-the-middle-of-a-case-300x225.jpg" alt="How To Change Lawyers In The Middle Of A Case" width="300" height="225" /></p> <p>If the previous lawyer hasn’t done any work on the case yet, then it is pretty easy. You can request they stop working and hire someone new. However, it gets more complicated