Divorce question -- is this normal?

[jam217]

I am looking for advice/feedback from either an attorney or people who are divorced. In August, my divorce became final. The following month I received what I believed to be the final bill from my divorce attorney and I paid it. I thought my dealing with the firm were over. My ex-husband and I had no issues with child support or custody so I had no further contact with them. As far as my ex-husband and I were concerned, everything was a done deal and we could both move on.

About three months have passed and today, I received in the mail a notice from my attorney's firm "a formal notice of intention to withdraw as counsel.'' This involves a petition that will be presented at the county courthouse on Friday, December 11 to a judge. Now, I don't have to appear unless I oppose.

What is also throwing me is the letter is not signed by my attorney but by her partner who I had absolutely no dealings with.

My concern is the cost to me for this hearing and for the motion to be filed. Was it naive of me to think that when my divorce was final, that the attorney's services also ended? Should I have sent a letter saying that I no longer needed their services? Is this type of hearing typically done?

Again, what I am very concerned about is receiving a large bill in the mail from them. If you are divorced, is this something that your lawyer did? If you're a lawyer, is this something you typically do when a client's case is over? Am I getting upset and annoyed over something that is routine?

 

[N.Bailey]

Why don't you pick up the phone and give them a call? No one here will be able to tell you what those fees are for. Maybe it was just an oversight?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Why don't you pick up the phone and give them a call? No one here will be able to tell you what those fees are for. Maybe it was just an oversight?

*****

I would also wonder what you signed as an agreement.

 

[lovetoscrap]

She probably isn't calling because she got the letter today and it is Saturday. I am sure she was coming here to see if anyone can help put her mind at ease on something that can't be dealt with until Monday morning.

Sorry I can't help OP but hopefully somone will come by that can.

 

[BelleWDW]

It sounds like a formal filing that they are finished with your case.

 

[happygirl]

Why don't you pick up the phone and give them a call? No one here will be able to tell you what those fees are for. Maybe it was just an oversight?

I'm going to guess she got it today, and she just wants to see what everyone thinks. Nothing wrong with getting others view points

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I think this sounds strange. Your divorce is final, case closed. Why would they need to officially withdraw? I've only heard that done when a lawyer decided mid-case that he/she couldn't or didn't want to represent you any longer.

I was divorced in 1999. I didn't use that lawyer's services after the divorce was final and I never received anything that he was offically withdrawing.

I used a different attorney in 2008 when I needed to make adjustments to our custody agreement. She didn't withdraw either after it was all said and done.

Strange. Maybe the lawyer you dealt with left the firm and the firm wants to officially withdraw?

I'd call on Monday to find out what the heck's going on. This could be routine for this firm. But I'd want to know if they had an issue with me that I was unaware of.

 

[happily single]

Not sure how much states vary, but normally once the final judgment of divorce is entered it's assumed that the attorney/client relationship has ceased. If you signed a Retainer Agreement read it over, but I'm sure the motion is just a technacality that needs to be filed, esp. since you don't need to appear if you agree.

 

[momof1princess]

former legal secretary here. we NEVER withdrew from a divorce case AFTER it was finalized. if the divorce is over, there's no reason to. there were a few my boss withdrew from while the cases were ongoing, but that was a rarity. OP, call your attorney's office on monday and find out what is going on. this seems really strange, especially since the paperwork didn't come from your attorney, but from her partner.

 

[OceanAnnie]

It sounds strange to me. I would call and speak to the attorney that handled your case. I would ask for an explanation and confirmation that you are paid in full. (It sounded like that was the case in your OP.) I would request that a "paid in full" statement be sent to my home. And if it isn't offered, I would request that the finalization be done in house by way of the paid in full statement.

It sounds like the partner overstepped a bit. Maybe. If not, I'd make a note to self to use another law firm for any future dealings.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Sounds strange, if every lawyer had to go before the court to dissolve the relationship after a case was done, that's all that the courts would have time for.

 

[golfgal]

Maybe the partnership is dissolving or the attorney is leaving law or something along those lines???

 

[NotUrsula]

Maybe the partnership is dissolving or the attorney is leaving law or something along those lines???

This is quite possibly the answer. DH was involved in the dissolution of a firm a few years ago, and he spent several days writing hundreds of these types of motions in order to formally close all the firm's files. There were no hearings on any of them, though; they just had to be filed with Clerk of Court as a formality.

He is not a domestic attorney, so it could be a different situation, of course, and I suspect that the rules vary by state. I just know that he had to do it for every case that the firm had on the books that year, because the partnership was dissolved and the files were sold to another law firm.

PS: I should have said -- none of the clients was charged for the filing expenses or his time.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

OP - Just wondering if you called your attorney. What was this about?

 

[legalsea]

It does sound a little strange. However, in my years I have never heard of an attorney charging a client for withdrawing from a case.

I imagine it is some procedural thing as stated by others. Or, simply a mistake (sent to wrong client).