Solicitors fees From Estate

tywanda

Hi

I am executor of my friends will and also main beneficiary. My friend sadly passed away four weeks ago.

My friend did not pay her solicitor for any work done on her behalf for a period of eight years. His work was ongoing involving complex divorce proceedings and other matters. Obviously he needs to be paid for his work over the years, however my friend never received any up dated costs/bills so had no idea what she owed him and was always scared to ask.

My question is as executor of her will can I ask to see a breakdown of his costs even though I was not his client? The solicitor is the main creditor and I am suspicious as to how he has carried out some of his duties over the years such as sometimes doing her shopping!

Thank you

SevenOfNine

Yes. You are dealing with the estate & will be paying creditors so must see proper invoices for all the aspects of work he claims for, not just a 'job lot' invoice of ££££ - a full breakdown. I wouldn't assume that he's owed anything, I'd ask if he is, because it's not like a solicitor to not be paid "over the years" for work he's done, but maybe that's so in this case?  Do you have any of the paperwork & agreement between him/her.

This is one where I would definitely put an advert in the local paper & the London Gazette (you can have a look on line at others in the LG to see the appropriate terminology), asking for creditors to step forward. You do have to wait (I think it's 12 weeks or something afterwards though), I didn't bother for the estates I've had to handle, but they were very close family & knew there were no hidden creditors.

Keep_pedalling

SevenOfNine said:

Yes. You are dealing with the estate & will be paying creditors so must see proper invoices for all the aspects of work he claims for, not just a 'job lot' invoice of ££££ - a full breakdown. I wouldn't assume that he's owed anything, I'd ask if he is, because it's not like a solicitor to not be paid "over the years" for work he's done, but maybe that's so in this case?  Do you have any of the paperwork & agreement between him/her.

This is one where I would definitely put an advert in the local paper & the London Gazette (you can have a look on line at others in the LG to see the appropriate terminology), asking for creditors to step forward. You do have to wait (I think it's 12 weeks or something afterwards though), I didn't bother for the estates I've had to handle, but they were very close family & knew there were no hidden creditors.

As the OP is the only beneficiary putting an advert in the gazette does not really achieve anything as creditors can still chase the beneficiaries for debts.

This seems a very odd situation between client and solicitor, and I would certainly challenge any charge for non professional services like shopping. As her executor you certainly have a right to see the solicitor’s full breakdown of costs and copies of any contracts that were signed. It is possible that any debts older than 6 years old will be statute barred and unenforceable. 

Until you actually have the final bill and cost breakdowns I don’t think anyone here can really be of further help. Depending on what you receive from them you may need to take professional advice from another solicitor. 

sassyblue

Her solicitor really ought to have been providing her with costs update letters at regular points throughout her matter. It’s against SRA principles to act without honesty of course, but yes you can ask about her costs to date.

Marcon

tywanda said:

Hi

I am executor of my friends will and also main beneficiary. My friend sadly passed away four weeks ago.

My friend did not pay her solicitor for any work done on her behalf for a period of eight years. His work was ongoing involving complex divorce proceedings and other matters. Obviously he needs to be paid for his work over the years, however my friend never received any up dated costs/bills so had no idea what she owed him and was always scared to ask.

My question is as executor of her will can I ask to see a breakdown of his costs even though I was not his client? The solicitor is the main creditor and I am suspicious as to how he has carried out some of his duties over the years such as sometimes doing her shopping!

Thank you

What's 'suspicious' about that? Unusual, perhaps, but it is always open to client and adviser to agree pretty much anything they want to agree, provided it's lawful.

You're the executor, so drop the solicitor an e-mail in that capacity and ask if he has any bills outstanding. See what he comes back with before you start getting excited or challenging anything. 

tooldle

Just to comment on the shopping concern. Its not that unusual, depending on the age of circumstances of the client. My mum's solicitor certainly offers a service to older people which can include a weekly amount of cash being delivered to the client.

Flugelhorn

tooldle said:

Just to comment on the shopping concern. Its not that unusual, depending on the age of circumstances of the client. My mum's solicitor certainly offers a service to older people which can include a weekly amount of cash being delivered to the client.

I think that does happen, some acting as LPA etc 

SevenOfNine

Keep_pedalling said:

SevenOfNine said:

Yes. You are dealing with the estate & will be paying creditors so must see proper invoices for all the aspects of work he claims for, not just a 'job lot' invoice of ££££ - a full breakdown. I wouldn't assume that he's owed anything, I'd ask if he is, because it's not like a solicitor to not be paid "over the years" for work he's done, but maybe that's so in this case?  Do you have any of the paperwork & agreement between him/her.

This is one where I would definitely put an advert in the local paper & the London Gazette (you can have a look on line at others in the LG to see the appropriate terminology), asking for creditors to step forward. You do have to wait (I think it's 12 weeks or something afterwards though), I didn't bother for the estates I've had to handle, but they were very close family & knew there were no hidden creditors.

As the OP is the only beneficiary putting an advert in the gazette does not really achieve anything as creditors can still chase the beneficiaries for debts.

This seems a very odd situation between client and solicitor, and I would certainly challenge any charge for non professional services like shopping. As her executor you certainly have a right to see the solicitor’s full breakdown of costs and copies of any contracts that were signed. It is possible that any debts older than 6 years old will be statute barred and unenforceable. 

Until you actually have the final bill and cost breakdowns I don’t think anyone here can really be of further help. Depending on what you receive from them you may need to take professional advice from another solicitor. 

OP said "main", not "only".

TBagpuss

Yes, totally reasonable to ask for a breakdown of costs and also for copies of the original terms of business and costs estimate.
It's unusual to go such a long time without billing her, but the solicitor should have provided her with an original estimate and to have updated her if that estimate changed - so if they originally told her that the divorce would cost her £1,000 and they are now seeking to bill £20,000 they'll need to show that they wrote to her updating that estimate, before they incurred the extra fees. 
Was the divorce finalised? If not, or if the divorce was finished but there was  no final financial order, hr ex may have a claim against the estate.

I'd suggest that you as k the solicitor to provide copies of any unpaid bills and a copy of the original signed terms, original estimate and any costs updates, in the first instance, and then go from there.