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Lawyers and fuzzy math

Started by maple flats, May 19, 2015, 12:16:03 PM

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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.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

beenthere

It is really bad when you have to rely on them, but also do their work for them.
And still they bill you big $$$ every time your name crosses their mind.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

snowstorm

the lawyer i used to use got caught stealing a half a mill from to old ladies in a nursing home. the word is he is going to jail..he should

warren46

Quote from: snowstorm on May 19, 2015, 05:29:25 PM
the lawyer i used to use got caught stealing a half a mill from to old ladies in a nursing home. the word is he is going to jail..he should

So do the old ladies still have the other half of the mill?  It seems that the lumber would not be very good is sawn on half of a mill.
Warren E. Johnson
Timber Harvester 36HTE25, John Deere 300b backhoe/loader.

gfadvm

William Shakespeare said it best: "First, kill all the lawyers."

sandhills

No, I don't agree with that at all, I know several that I have good relationships with and they're just as common as me.  I truly don't think lawyers are one bit different than doctors or even us farmers for that matter, we all have our specialties so to speak, although some maybe a little overzealous at times, what job title doesn't have people like that?   I take care of quite a bit of ground for my mom and her sisters that's required quite a bit of legal advice and their choice of lawyer was wrong as far as I'm concerned but it was their choice and they trust him, in IMHO the type of work we were asking for just wasn't his "specialty", he retired and now we're dealing with someone else who deals with what we're trying to accomplish and nothing else, that's his business, BIG difference.  Not harping on anybody just saying I don't want to be judged by anyone who's never walked in my shoes and I try not to judge others likewise.   

John Mc

I agree, sandhills.  IMO, the percentage of jerks and incompetents in every profession is about the same, some professions just get more publicity or are in a position to affect more people.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

maple flats

My personal experience over the years has been 2 good and 9 bad. However the 9includes one my brother had to deal with. It was a 200 +/- acre farm in an estate. He made an offer which was accepted by the only heir but it took far too long. My brother kept calling for a status check every 2-3 weeks to the extent the lawyer told him, "you haven't waited until you wait a year". The Lawyer kept asking my brother how he should do various things, not opinions, but technical issues. Finally 1 yr. and 3 days after the purchase offer was accepted, he finally had the closing.
So I guess I've batted under 20% in getting the right lawyer. That seems to be more difficult than one might think, If the lawyer lists his specialties it seems like he should be able to handle those areas. What I have found is mostly lawyers who take on far more work than they can begin to handle properly.
In another case my lawyer (now ex. lawyer) actually had me dictate the legal description on a parcel of land. It was on a piece I was selling. My description is now in the deed of the property I sold. That was a group of several contiguous parcels I bought at a tax sale. I joined them into 1 parcel. Then the abstract co;. could not connect the dots. I took a few weeks at the court house sifting through old deeds and finally got it done. I then dictated the description to my lawyer. Then he sent that description back to the abstract co. with my notes on the history of each parcel, going back into the early 1800's and the legal search was finalized. Normally searches only need to go back 40 years, but this had to go further because there was such a long string of foreclosures and tax sales for non payment of taxes, dating back on some of the parcels to before the 1850's.
My point here is that a lawyer should never have an untrained individual dictate the legal description of the property. At the time I thought it neat, but now realize the fallacies. After I finished writing the description, it was surveyed and sold.
logging small time for years but just learning how,  2012 36 HP Mahindra tractor, 3point log arch, 8000# class excavator, lifts 2500# and sets logs on mill precisely where needed, Woodland Mills HM130Max , maple syrup a hobby that consumes my time. looking to learn blacksmithing.

petefrom bearswamp

I have worked with several over my long and happy life and found all but one to be competent and honest.
The incompetent one was honest just a nincompoop.
Kubota 8540 tractor, FEL bucket and forks, Farmi winch
Kubota 900 RTV
Polaris 570 Sportsman ATV
3 Huskies 1 gas Echo 1 cordless Echo vintage Homelite super xl12
57 acres of woodland

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