Is it bad that my attorney did not have me sign a retainer agreement?

Question

Now that the first part of our divorce trial has happen I have been messed over. My attorney has not contacted me to tell me this. It is hear say from my ex that he will now not give me half of the mortgage. And I can not afford it on my own which my attorney knew from the begin. He should of fought for me.

I learned about the retainer a few days ago. And I can not get ahold of the him now... He only communicates now from email. And I am in Louisiana...

Answer 1

talk to your attornbey, not us. and if he was no good, file a complaint with the bar association.

Answer 2

Do you and your wife have separate attorneys? Or did you go to "her" attorney? If you went to "her" attorney then that's why you didn't get to sign a retainer agreement.

If the home/loan is under your name then you don't have a problem with that. If it's under both of your names then there are 3 ways to settle that matter.....1) one person buys out the other person. 2) the home is sold and the proceeds IF ANY or bills left IF ANY are shared by you both, split down the middle, or 3) either one of you sign a quit claim deed to the other and only one ends up owning it ...however both names still stay on the home/loan till it's paid for by paying it off or by selling it. Whoever in the end gets the house (and that depends on if you both have children...usually whoever ends up with the children gets the house for the purpose of the children).

IF you end up with the house and can't afford it then you either get a renter (same gender as you) to share the bills or if the house is large enough then you bring in a family to share the house, or you bring in a family to rent the entire house and you go find yourself an efficiency apartment while they pay the mortgage for you. Whatever you choose to do you need to decide it quickly and work on getting someone in there who has been working a long time, has good income, and won't mess up the house too bad. You can ask a realtor to find people for that purpose and they will check the credit of those people and ability to pay you. You will be paying the realtor a monthly charge for that service (something that's normal).

Talk with your attorney, however if you both have the same attorney then you need to get your own attorney, and in a hurry.

Answer 3

Lawyers are like car sells man ,they promise you a million but you only get a penny. He can fight all he wants but there is guide lines that states go by. Best thing you should of done is asked around and seen the out comes from different divorces . Basically yours will be the same. The lawyer will say he can do this and that but he knows what the final outcome will be ,all he did is suck you in t get your money. I guarantee you signed some sort of agreement for payment and services . Retainer is basicailly a down payment

Answer 4

Absent a retainer agreement, they attorney is still bound by the ethical rules that apply in your state.

The problems with the divorce settlement are independent of this, and would not change even if you had a retainer agreement with your attorney.

And yes, your attorney should have helped you prepare for the possible problems, or at least tried to prevent them.

Answer 5

No it is not bad that your attorney did not have you sign a retainer agreement...

Retainer agreements are preferred but .. not necessary usually.

As for the other stuff.. the attorney should be keeping you informed so..

Answer 6

If you knew about the retainer agreement, you should have asked him about it before you allowed him to take your case, but none the less he is responsible for representing you. You can file a grievance and will send you a link for you to read as how to proceed. What state do you reside? I will send you a link.

There is a complaint form on this link if PDF format.
http://www.la-legal.com/complaint.htm