need advice

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onedergirl07

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i was poa for my mom at one point but when i became ill my uncle took over.. by doing so he spent all of her money.. he had people thinking he was fixing up her house properly but in 2007 i took back over.. i found that she had only 370.00 in the bank.. but when he took over she had over 50,000 plus she was getting 1400 a month in social security.. we paid a lawyer in april but she hasn't done much.. at least we have the petition signed.. but in his answer back, he states that my mother gave him permission to spend the money as he wished and that he denies everything and then states that i want everything but i don't.. he put 30,000 in an annuity and made himself co-owner and his wife and himself beneficiary.. also he made a will but didn't give her a copy .. and the attorney that did it won't give her a copy.. then my sister tried to get her to sign copies of something .. but when my mother said she wouldn't sign it she got made but didn't leave a copy of what it was..i'm not sure if she then forged her signature or something.. the house was in my mother and my name with right of survivorship.. is there anyway for my uncle or my sister to get the house or maybe get a mortgage or something without our knowledge.. my mother had to try to sue to get her money from her own brother.. i don't get it.. i really don't know what to say.. or do.. i'm trying to be patient with this lawyer but it has been since april 2008.. i would hate to think that the lawyer is going to get free money too.. we have since done another will but just want to be sure the house cannot be taken.. we are trying to get the other money back with lawyer's help.. thanks..
 
Your uncle made a will out for your mom under POA? Awesome. :) It might not even be valid - depending where you are, the powers of an attorney-in-fact may not extend to drawing up a will. (They do not in my jurisdiction.) Since you've already drawn up a new one the old one is also revoked. If it was a valid will, your mom should have a right to see any will purporting to be hers. Get her lawyer on the other lawyer's ass about it. I would not recommend patience with your lawyer unless they can give you good reasons why this can't be done immediately.

Check the title on the house - that should show whose name it is in and whether there are any mortgages registered against title.

Your uncle as attorney-in-fact had a duty to act in your mom's best interests and to keep financial records. By "mom told him to spend it as he wished", he appears to be suggesting her money was a gift to him, and he was spending it not in his capacity as attorney on her behalf, but rather on his own. That's great - can't wait to hear how that goes down in court.
 
she said she faxed a request to the attorney for the copy of the will.. like i said we paid her in april .. she acts kinda mean sometimes .. sometimes she doesn't return my calls and when i do finally reach her she acts as if she bothered about me calling.. but when we started this she acted very friendly and quickly did a few things about the case but then stopped.. i don't even have an itemized statement from her yet as to what she's done and how much it has cost so far.. i really want another attorney but i'm afraid that we can't recoop any of the money that we've paid her.. the only way i got a copy of the petition was to get it from the courthouse.. but i asked her for this in august.. what can i do now.. my mother already had to pay a lot of money for her services and we haven't really gotten anything done yet.. are we just out of that money.. we had to sign a retainer.. dang i wish i knew what to do..
 
If you think you're not getting good service, go somewhere else. I would hazard a guess you're not going to be able to recoup any of the fees you've already paid. But you can demand an itemized statement of account, and if you think you didn't get value for your money, have the bill taxed in court.
 
ok.. exactly how do i have a bill taxed in court.. btw, i am supposed to go see this lawyer saturday to discuss what our next move is.. according to the contract, consultation is free.. she may have worked maybe 5 or 6 hours on this.. she's never went to court so she shouldnt charge for that.. i couldn't understand why she put the petition in my mother's name instead of mine when i have a right to sue as poa.. the contract is in my name.. but i told her my mother has memory problems and probably wouldn't be able to stand trial and she said my mother has to be strong and so she put me as a witness supposedly.. my mother is 81 and on exelon.. there is no way she's gonna remember signing a contract to let my uncle be coowner of her money with him as beneficiary.. he had the statements from the bank and the annuity information going to a p o box.. the work done on the house.. no permits from the city.. most of those checks were written to himself.. even for the ch&a.. she still needs to make repairs to her house and needs her money to be fluid.. both of them have to sign off on the annuity and he won't sign.. i really wanna kick his ass.. but i would be worth nothing in jail.. can you imagine that he is also a minister.. he was even writting checks to churches too.. buying himself clothes and getting his dry cleaned while my mother had no clothes.. how in the world did she only had 370.00 from march of 06 to nov 07 while getting 1400.00 a month and i was paying all of the utilities.. i even asked for the password to the security alarm and he said to me after i found out what was going on and called the police, find that out on your own like you found out everything else.. i'm trying to be strong.. and then my sister trying to take money that my mother didn't know she had.. it was 11,000 and she wanted all of it and told her she wanted it to save her house.. wtf is wrong with people.. now she doesn't call my mother at all.. my mother is the kindest person i know.. i wanna cry because i chose this atty because prepaid legal recommended her.. if my mother has any money left on this contract i will cancel and seek another atty.. to this date i still don't have an itemized statement.. but she said i didn't ask for one.. dang, i shouldn't have to do that.. and she cashed the filing fee check on july 15 but didn't file the petition until aug 27.. i had to complain to prepaid legal to even get her to file... then she said she understands what i'm going through and if i needed her to sit with my mother sometimes she would.. but she acts bothered when i call to get things done in a timely manner.. sounds to me she wants free money .. thanks
 
Talk to the court clerk or registrar - they can tell you what you need to do to have a bill taxed.

The petition is in your mother's name because it's her suit, not yours. You're acting on her behalf, but it's her suit. No big deal there.

Sounds like you have a big mess with your family, and the legal issues are just a part of the puzzle. Good luck! :)
 
update, my mother was in the hospital for a blood clot and the atty said she would depose her in the hospital.. she said she has a atty friend that she wanted to meet my mother so she could give the atty advice on how to proceed.. of course that never happened.. she came to my mother's house and said she would depose her this week to preserve her testimony.. i asked for a statement and she keeps giving me the runaround.. and then she said that the atty that drew up my mother's first will told her to drop our case and no one else would help us.. i am trying to stay strong for my mom.. she looks so depressed.. i just want her money back so i can get another atty.. she said she would depose her at the house and that my uncle had the right to come.. who exactly is my mother's atty working for.. my uncle or what.. she always says she has to go to court but never for my mom.. i mean she has all the check copies.. my uncle denies everything.. what else do we need to do.. i'm really don't know what to do now.. thanks
 
Your facts are very confusing and its going to be difficult for anyone to give you good advice in this forum. But as I understand it, the bottom line is you're not satisfied with the lawyer you hired for your mother, and you've given them a chance to perform better but they are not. So go explain the situation to a new lawyer, see if they'll take your mother's case.
 
i'm sorry if the facts are confusing, forgive me.. but this is what i've been working with.. i did talk to another atty and they said that i have to release this atty first and then have to pay another 2500.00 which my mother doesn't have.. prepaid legal referred me to my mother's current atty.. but for my mom's atty tell me that another atty told her that no one else would help me and for her to drop my mother's case is very upsetting to say the least.. this is really getting to me.. i don't want to have to start all over.. i just want her to do for my mom what she does for the people that she says she's in court for, that's all
 
I don't know what to tell you. The other lawyer telling your lawyer no-one will help you is nothing to be concerned about since you've already spoken to a lawyer who WILL. Your lawyer isn't doing what you want. You should ask why, or seek another lawyer.

I don't particularly like your chances for getting your money back from your current lawyer, but I can guarantee you that you won't unless you do something - like end the retainer because you haven't been given an accounting when you've asked for it, and ask for your money back or have the bill taxed.
 
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