Pay now, or pay later . . .

MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2012

When it was decided that we were going to separate, and ultimately divorce, I decided that I wanted to have legal representation. 

I talked to some people who had recently gone through this nightmare of emotions, decisions, planning - - and legal advice.

There was an attorney who sounded perfect. I sent him an e-mail and he wrote back right away and instructed me to call the office and make an appointment.

When I called, the receptionist was very understanding and calming. She made the appointment, and then before hanging up, told me that the attorney charges $450 an hour, was that okay? I said yes, immediately trying to figure out how I could talk fast and get everything said in less than five minutes.

I drove for over an hour to see this very special attorney. When I got there the receptionist greeted me with a big hello and an even bigger hug - - no I had never met her before.

She got me a cup of coffee, and as I was taking my first sip, she said, "Can you pay me now, just in case you don’t like the attorney," and then she said, "Oh, you'll love him." Warning flag number one, but I pretended I didn't see it.

I handed over my credit card, and like magic, the attorney appeared. 

I did like him. I felt, finally, like I had someone on my side. We only talked for about 20 minutes (I didn’t get a refund for the unused hour). Before I left, he said, we won't do anything right now since everything seems to be working smoothly with the arrangement my husband and I had, but that I could call or e-mail anytime I had a question.

I left the office feeling better than I had in weeks.

Well, as it often does, questions arose. I sent my $450 an hour attorney an e-mail and asked my question. I didn't hear from him for two days, so I called the office. My best buddy receptionist didn't answer the phone. Another woman, who was not my best buddy, answered, and when I asked if I could speak with my knight in shining armor, she acted like I was some nobody off the street trying to squeeze my way into the club house. She said that she didn't know if I could speak with him, and she just couldn't tell me if he would even be in the office. What did she mean she didn't know if I could talk to him or whether he would be in the office?  Don’t $450 an hour attorneys need to account for their whereabouts? It was like a covert mission, that I wasn't a part of. Warning flag number two.

About an hour later, I received an e-mail from covert mission control and was told that I needed to sign a retainer and send $5,000 before I would be able to speak with my mystery man. 

My reply was not warm and fuzzy, and in about ten minutes I got an e-mail for the man himself saying he didn’t understand why I was upset. I fired my big time attorney who turned out to be a flimflam man.

I did some research trying to find another attorney who I felt could handle writing a separation agreement and take care of the divorce. After another week, I settled on a local attorney. I got to talk to him for an hour without having to pay a penny!!

After doing some thinking, and talking to my husband, I decided to use the local attorney. I made another appointment and told him what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. Again, I spent about 45 minutes with him at no charge - - also no activity. He didn't want to take my money if my husband wasn't going to sign an agreement. Now I'm wondering if he's too laid back for the job. Warning flag number three.

Again, I talked to my husband, and he said he didn't have a problem signing an agreement. 

I made my third appointment with the local attorney, and we had a long chat. I gave him all my information from my little purple folder that I had been carrying around for about a month. He asked questions and took notes. I gave him information, cried a little, told him what I wanted and we seemed to be on the same page. This time I didn't have to pay until AFTER we talked. 

He shook my hand and said that he would put a draft together and that it would probably only take a few days. 

A week and a half later, after my third call to the office, I got an e-mail from the secretary with the draft agreement attached.

It was a form agreement where you fill in the blanks and add your own information. The secretary had put it together, and then the attorney supposedly looked it over for errors. I read it and immediately thought that I should have paid myself because I was going to have to make so many corrections. Some of the incorrect details made me wonder if I really had a conversation with this man, or if I dreamt it.

I'm not sure what the moral of the story is except to pay attention to the warning flags - - they are trying to tell you something!!

Posted by Eva at 9:04 PM 1 comment:  

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