she left her house to us. the attorney stated that we had to pay for the nursing home for 3 years (36 months) before we could hand the finiancial situation over to the state. her money is now been used up and we have been paying for her for over a year. Today we find out that the timeline was only 20 months, not 36 that we were responsible for. for us thats roughly close to 85k of our own money that was washed away from our attorneys mis information. is there anything i can do to recoup this money?
2007-02-20 10:21:47 · 3 answers · asked by kendoll115 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You may be able to sue the attorney for malpractice. I suggest seeking out an attorney in your area that specializes in attorney malpractice and he or she can tell you if you have a claim.
Whether the attorney did or did not commit malpractice cannot be answered on this forum, the attorney you hire can give you a sense if you have a claim then will have to investigate to know for sure.
2007-02-20 10:31:38 · answer #1 · answered by Daz2020 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately not. Both pieces of information, your attorneys 36 months, and your new time line of 20 months are both wrong. Signing over homes before your aunt entered the nursing home is a touchy situation. As long as your aunt gave you the house even one day before she entered the nursing home it is totally legal. It is up to the Social Security Administration to prove that your aunt signed over the home with the intent of defrauding them out of their payment and it is extremely hard to do. Your attorney should have known this unfortunately attorneys often go by the same misinformation as we do. Your time line of 20 months is also wrong. It can be one day or ten years so to speak that the Social Security Administration can go back in time and try to prove fraud. So many families have suffered as you have because of all the misinformation that is out there. The time limit is entirely up to the Social Security Administration if they feel the house was signed over with the intent to defraud. Of course the nursing home is never going to tell you this. Your attorney should have known better but so many people follow the fictitious three year limit.
2007-02-20 10:47:57 · answer #2 · answered by Eva 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like any other professional negligence case, an legal malpractice lawsuit requires expert testimony regarding the standard of care for lawyers in your area. You should first consult a lawyer that specializes in handling legal malpractice cases for a consultation to review the case.
One thing to consider: does the attorney have the ability to pay? If the attorney who messed up doesn't have any assets for malpractice insurance, you may be barking up the wrong tree.
2007-02-20 10:40:29 · answer #3 · answered by Carl 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋