How to Remove Lawyers From Family Court
If you are involved in a divorce, support, or child custody action in family court and you have hired an attorney, your attorney entered her appearance on the court record. If you have had a disagreement with your attorney or you feel that your attorney is not doing a good job representing you, then you can fire your attorney, in most cases. Once you fire your attorney, she will be removed from the record in your family court proceeding.
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Instructions
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Read your retainer letter. The retainer letter outlines the duties, obligations, and procedures that govern the relationship between you and your attorney. Pay particular attention to the scope of representation, the payment procedures, and any language that discusses ending representation.
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Obtain a new family lawyer. Begin searching for, and contacting, new family lawyers to handle your case. Notify the attorneys that you are currently represented and that you are seeking new representation so that if you retain one, he may facilitate the transition. You may also proceed "pro se" in family court, which means that you represent yourself.
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Review any financial statements that you have received from the attorney. You must pay your attorney for any work she has completed on your case, and in most cases, the attorney will provide documents that serve as financial statements concerning the legal fees earned and payments received. Determine whether you owe your attorney any money, or whether the attorney must return any portion of the retainer as unearned.
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Contact the attorney and state that you are ending the representation. Send the attorney a letter stating that you no longer wish to be represented and that you will pay the balance owed to the attorney, or that the attorney must return the unused portion of the retainer that you have paid. Request that the attorney provide you with your copy your client file--the attorney should turn this over when you pay the balance due for legal fees or when she returns the unearned portion of your retainer. Save a copy of the letter for your records.
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Instruct your new attorney to enter his appearance or notify the judge that you are proceeding pro se. Once your new attorney has entered his appearance as your counsel or you have notified the judge that you are proceeding pro se, a note will be added to the record and your previous attorney will be removed from your family court case.
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References
- Photo Credit man and woman divorced image by Ivonne Wierink from Fotolia.com
