[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Far as lawyers taking a percentage of the estate. I confess, I have a very negative view of attorneys and that is based on experience with several.

See the situation. You hire someone and sign so much per hour. Who keeps track of the hours-they do. Verify the hours-you can't.

The attorney for my mother's estate. At the end he sent a bill for if, I recall like 5,000 no statement attached. When we demanded a statement he was not happy-don't you trust me? On review, he charged us several hours at $300 an hour to instruct named assistant who he also billed at $200 an hour. Yup, $500 an hour. And who was his assistant. A little research. He was a law STUDENT working for free to add to his resume. Honor? Ethics? My sister wanted this attorney. I expect my brother in law, who knew this guy was getting a piece. I had a flat rate estimate for 3,000 from another attorney. I explained it all to this atty and told him I was going to send it all to the bar for review. HE CUT HIS BILL TO THE 3,000.

For we non-attorneys that is grand larceny or perhaps attempted grand larceny. Our legal system. Terms like YOUR HONOR. It is on the business card. Sadly, often the only place it is.

Contractors, plumbers, roofers, electricians, auto repair shops, real estate agents and even MDs do the same thing in my experience.