With my final accounting documents, can I dispute an attorneys bill that may not be filed yet?
Question Details: I am a P.R. of an estate and my previous attorney will be petitioning the court for payment out of estate funds.We could not settle on an amount.Can I address that issue when I file the final accounting papers?Or do I need to wait until he actually files the petition?
It can't be a final accounting until the claim is resolved. Even if you were able to file the accounting before the fee request is filed, you know it's coming, and so, in good faith, you would have to list that as a contingent liability of the estate (a known claim against the estate that is not yet settled, as to liability, amount, or both), which would by definition prevent that accounting from being accepted as final.
Litigation about legal fee requests like this are far from uncommon, and it has become an area of law all its own. If there is a substantial amount of money in dispute, you might want to hire another lawyer to represent the estate in this phase.
