Lawyers and fuzzy math

[maple flats]

I just picked up a check and statement from my lawyer (not any more) for a piece of land I sold for my mother. In the statement he shows the proceeds and disbursements he made. The problem is his math. He sent a check to the RE agent, even though the deposit exceeded their commission. He should have gotten a check from them in the amount he sent them. I suspect the RE agent would have corrected it, in time BUT I called them to have them send me the total due me when they get the check to be sure.
This lawyer would get fired if he was a store cashier who gave too much change to the customers routinely. I think it's time for him to retire.
He made a few other errors and delays too. I signed the closing document back in mid March, then about 2 weeks later he called me while I was boiling to inform me that he had spoken with the city planner who told him that I needed to go through a sub-division. I said I was too busy at that time to get that started, and he said he could handle it. I said no, I would handle it when I got time later in maple season. Then I got some time in early April and I stopped to get the details from the city planner. It turned out that she was on vacation, but would return in 8 days. When she returned I spoke with her to get the details. I seems the lawyer had not given her enough information. The original deed had in fact been split, and parts sold off a few times over the years, however everything had already been split into separate tax parcels years ago. The parcel being sold already had it's own tax I.D. number and has been getting it's own tax bill, thus no sub-division was needed. I then informed the lawyer what she told me. He then insisted she submit a statement, and get it notarized to that effect. After he got that, it took him 4 more weeks before he got the purchaser in to sign and complete the sale. In the middle of all this, mom had died at age 94. Then he told me, since she had died, the sale would need to go into her estate and go thru probate before the sale could be finalized, but fortunately he had a recent law school graduate there, who had just started working there that day. This grad. (and passed the bar exam) told him, since I had signed as P.O.A. for mom, long before her death, it did not need to go for probate, because she was still alive when I had signed the closing. At that I looked him straight in the eye and said "You really screwed this all up"!
Unfortunately I will not give his name, but his legal knowledge seems to match his initials, B.S..
While I can not recommend a good lawyer, if anyone is looking for a lawyer in Oneida, NY, P.M. me and I will give you the name of one NOT to use.

[BreezyHill]

Flats, Sorry for your education n lawyers.

I too have had several run ins with stupid, ignorant lawyers. One had to be educated during a probate hearing for my brothers estate. The lawyer his exwife hired to suck money from her two kids wanted me to pay for my attourney and hers to save the kids some money. The judge informed him that it should be the other way around since she is making all these claims against the estate and costing the estate money. A simple 1 hearing estate ended up taking...6 years and running. I allowed the daughter to take over since she decided to be co exec and sided with her mom. My lawyer died in an accident shortly after and now the estate owes his estate....what a mess.

I finally did find one good layer that took care of transition of our farm from my parents to me...60 days after he finalized everything he gets called up to work for the JAG and leaves the area. What a waste; honest, flat fee for everything, just a down to earth guy, laughed when mom told him that her lawyer would not do the job as she could not remember the exact date the farm was given to her. She had the month and year but the day was off by 2 days. The lawyer also charged by the minute and for the time to walk from the office to the meeting room was a 5 minute charge! The good lawyer got the lawyer back for me. She had misspelled my moms middle name and me made her refile every paper she had done for them and pay the fees since it was her error. He said it would cost her a few grand to do all of it. He demanded it be done in 48 hours or he would do it all and charge her original charges back to her. She never called again after that.

Unfortunately I think there are more bad lawyers in the State tan good ones. I knew a kid in my class that went on to be a lawyer...he was a good honest guy back then.

[Clarkfield Farms]

Wow, Dave... wow. We could swap stories about this sort of thing for a long, long time. This is what happens when "professionals" are allowed to police their own ranks. The foxes will convict the chickens every time.

[maple flats]

Yes, I had a good, honest, efficient, fair priced lawyer who handled several transactions for me over the last 12 years, when he handled a purchase or sale he was always right on top of things and kept the other lawyer doing their job too, then he got appointed as a judge and is not allowed to be in private practice. I see why they call it "practice", because they never get it right.
I had another lawyer, back in 1985 who handled the purchase of a duplex rental income property. The property had an assumable mortgage so we assumed that and paid the rest in cash, by cashiers check. Then every month, we sent in the mortgage payment. About 3-4 months into it, I got a call from the previous owner, asking what I was doing to him. I asked what that was about, and he said he had gotten notice of the lender's intent to foreclose. Here I had been paying every month and I had the cancelled checks to prove it (yes, back then we still got the cancelled checks). I then called my lawyer who had handled the transaction. He said the lender had likely lost the paperwork. I asked him to check into it. He called back several days later and said they could find no trace of the assumption. I then said "check in your paperwork' but he assured me he did not have it. Then about 2-3 weeks later he called back, and you guessed it, he had found the paperwork. It was found in a brief case he had never handled since we closed, including the cashier's check we had paid with. In it was all the paperwork. I said " You surely don't expect me to pay the resultant late fees and fines". He agreed and he handled it then, I paid nothing extra. The next I heard of that lawyer, he had quit law and become a minister (then he was messing with peoples souls and not just their business transactions) I never did hear how much he had to pay.
One thing that has baffled me to this day is how a bank will cash a check every month for 3-4 months without ever contacting the payer about what the check is for. I don't know if that bank is still around, but their name was Empbanque Capital Corp.. I don't know if they were a brick & morter bank, or just a office that cashes checks with no idea what it needs to be applied against.
It seemed to me that long before it got to the foreclosure warning, since every check had the account # on it, they would have begun investigating why.

[Bucket Head]

I think 98% of the population has a story they could share regarding incompetant lawyers. My brother inlaw is dealing with the aftermath of one now.

These stories are where this joke originates from. Question: What do you call a lawyer floating face-down in the Hudson River? Answer: A good start.

Theres a small handfull of good ones out there. The trouble is you have to deal with the bad ones first inorder to find the better ones. This legal phenomenon is known as Murphy's Law.

[Clarkfield Farms]

lol, Steve...

What do you call a bus load of lawyers going over a cliff, but there's one empty seat?

A darn shame... fill it up next time!!! :)

[wiam]

95% of lawyers give the rest a bad name. Sorry Flats:-|

[lpakiz]

Statistically, 50% of alll lawyers graduate in the bottom half of their class.

[maple flats]

I think this one was dead last. I still have not gotten the balance due from the sale. Talking with the real estate agent, she said the lawyers office kept arguing that they did not own me anymore, but finally the agent says the lawyer's office agreed. I talked with that office 3 times since that time and each time they said they would mail the check. They said that on 5/21, 5/27 and again on 6/1. I just had to call again, but this time I actually got the lawyer in person (the same one who I had looked straight in the eye [3 weeks after I had signed the closing but still 3 weeks before he had gotten the buyer to go in, sign and pay] and told him "you really screwed this sale up") and I asked where the check was. He said his office never told him about the screw up. I don't fully believe him. He said he would look into it. Now I likely need to wait another 7 months.
This parcel had a purchase off and I accepted it back in December, for a CASH sale, no banks involved. The lawyer took until April 2 to be ready for me to go in and sign for the closing. I signed and the buyer was scheduled to sign the next day, until my lawyer put a hold on it, saying I needed a sub division.
Then after straightening that out, he dragged his feet even more.
If I didn't think I'd get sued by him, I'd publicize his name, buy likely that's one case he would win.
Did I mention that this lawyer does not get my business again?
I'm still waiting. By the way, mail from his office to my home will only take 1 day, if they ever mail it.

[huxta]

Flats, It sounds like you need another lawyer to collect whats due to you from the this lawyer. But then again, from post 4, it sounds like you don't have very good luck with lawyers.

[maple flats]

Last evening I actually got a call from my lawyer's secretary. He had spoken to her after I called during the day. She claims she mailed the check on 6/1 at the P.O. I doubt it, but she now says she will stop payment on that check, write another and will bring it to my house. We'll see.

[OneLegJohn]

The whole reason to use an attorney, even bad ones, is they are bonded when they make a mistake. Especially on real estate transactions. Don't make it personal, state the facts and have a new attorney look it over. Your new attorney's fees may even be covered by the old attorney's insurance. Check with your new attorney. :)