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I want to hire a NEW ATTORNEY with money my husband was ordered to pay my last lawyer.
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Q. The court ordered my husband to pay my present attorney $10,000 for legal fees at $500/month. He has made 2 or 3 payments. The court order says the fees are to be paid directly to her. She (my attorney) filed a motion to withdraw, and fired me.
Now I need a new attorney. Can this money be used to pay them instead? Her bills say I owe her $11,000?
Julia. Rancho Cucamonga
A. Family Code section 272 provides, in dealing with court orders that one party pay the other money on account of their legal fees, "(c) If the attorney has ceased to be the attorney for the party in whose behalf the order was made, the [prior]attorney may enforce the order only if it appears of record that the attorney has given to the former or successor counsel 10 days' written notice of the application for enforcement of the order. During the 10 day period, the client may file in the proceeding a motion directed to the former attorney for partial or total reallocation of fees and costs to cover the services and cost of successor counsel. On the filing of the motion, the enforcement of the order by the former attorney shall be stayed until the court has resolved the motion."
So, in order for your former attorney to be entitled to continue to receive payment she has to have given you notice which is unlikely since few attorneys know about this rule. Effectively, you probably need to demand she give the notice, and then file or have a motion filed within the 10 days to tell the court you cannot continue your case if those fees are not used for your new attorney!
Thurman W. Arnold III
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Posted By Thurman Arnold on
August 18, 2009 08:38 am |
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