how to sue my lawyer at the estate and federal level

In most states, you can file your complaint by mailing in a state-issued complaint form or a letter with the lawyer's name and contact information, your contact information, a description of the problem, and copies of relevant documents. In some states, you may be able to lodge your complaint over the phone or online.

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What do you need to sue a lawyer?

May 12, 2016 · A much larger number of cases must be brought and defended in a state court. These are actions in which the plaintiff's claim is based upon state, not federal, law and the plaintiff and at least one defendant reside in the same state. But many cases can be brought in either a state or federal court. These include actions in which the parties on ...

What if I am sued as a defendant in a state?

In a lawsuit against another person or business, you can typically go straight to court. But if you want to sue the federal government, you must first file an administrative claim with the federal agency that caused you harm. For example, if slipped and fell at the post office, you would file your administrative claim with the U.S. Postal Service.

Can you sue an executor of an estate?

Feb 12, 2022 · A claim of malpractice may exist if your lawyer exhibited negligence in your representation. If your lawyer’s negligence caused you to suffer harm or a less advantageous outcome or settlement in your case, you may have a claim to sue your lawyer for professional negligence. Establishing a legal malpractice claim for a negligent lawyer is ...

Can you sue the government?

You make your claim by submitting a regular bill or by using a court document called a Creditor's Claim (Form DE-172, available at www.courtinfo.ca.gov ). Submit your claim directly to the probate court and serve a copy on the personal representative.

What is the most common complaint against lawyers?

Perhaps the most common kinds of complaints against lawyers involve delay or neglect. This doesn't mean that occasionally you've had to wait for a phone call to be returned. It means there has been a pattern of the lawyer's failing to respond or to take action over a period of months.

Is there a time limit on taking legal action?

As a general rule for contractual and most tortious claims, the limitation period is six years from accrual of the cause of action (Limitation Act 1980, ss.22 May 2019

What is a latent damage claim?

When the Latent Damage Act 1986 was introduced, many thought it was a sensible compromise between the need for a long-stop date and the need to protect those unaware of a latent defect. In essence it gives a claimant three years from the date when he knew or should have known of a problem to issue proceedings.7 Jun 2011

How long can you claim a latent defect?

For negligence claims in respect of latent damage the limitation period is the later of: six years from the date the damage occurred; or. three years from the date on which the claimant had the requisite knowledge and the right to bring such an action.14 Apr 2021

The Federal Tort Claims Act ("Ftca")

Historically, under the doctrine of "sovereign immunity," you were not permitted to sue the king. Sovereign immunity has carried over to modern tim...

Is My Claim Permitted by The FTCA?

In general, the FTCA is intended to provide monetary compensation for injury, property loss, or death "caused by the negligent or wrongful act or o...

Filing An Administrative Claim

In a normal lawsuit claiming negligence, you proceed more or less straight to court. But if you wish to sue under the FTCA, you must first file a c...

Why is diversity jurisdiction called diversity jurisdiction?

Cases between corporate or individual citizens of different states invoke federal jurisdiction called diversity jurisdiction, so-called because there is diversity of citizenship among the parties. Actions based on federal law may be tried in federal court on what is called federal question jurisdiction. If you or your company is a plaintiff ...

How many people are on a federal jury in California?

Civil juries in most state courts, California included, consist of twelve persons. Federal civil juries in most districts, including those in California, are made up of six persons. There is little reliable information about whether a six person federal jury will behave differently from a tw elve person state court jury because ...

What is a state jury?

In urban counties, a state court jury can be expected to consist primarily of city dwellers from a range of social and economic classes. Federal courts, with access to jurors throughout a multi-county district, are likely to include more suburban dwellers. To illustrate, in San Francisco this means that a state court jury will be drawn entirely ...

What are some examples of civil cases?

Examples are actions for patent and copyright infringement, bankruptcy cases, suits for refund of federal taxes, claims under federal antitrust laws and other cases where federal jurisdiction is exclusive.

What happens when the law is unclear?

When the law is unclear, there are still general considerations which may help you make a choice of court. If the case turns on federal law, as with cases which qualify for federal question jurisdiction in the federal court, litigating the action in a state court may deny you the federal law expertise of a federal judge.

How are cases assigned in California?

In most federal courts, including those in California, cases are assigned by random drawing to one judge for all purposes when the complaint is filed. This means that the judge who will conduct the trial will become familiar with the case throughout the pretrial period.

How are state cases assigned?

State cases often are not assigned to a judge for all purposes. This means that pretrial motions may be heard by one judge after another and that you will not know who the trial judge will be until the case is assigned just before trial. In most federal courts, including those in California, cases are assigned by random drawing to one judge ...

What is the purpose of the FTCA?

In general, the FTCA is intended to provide monetary compensation for injury, property loss, or death "caused by the negligent or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government.". But this broad-sounding mandate is subject to a lot of fine print. Although the limitations and exceptions are too numerous to review in this article, ...

How long can you sue a federal agency?

If the federal agency fails to rule on your administrative claim within six months, you have the choice of either awaiting the agency's decision or going ahead with your lawsuit. As long as the federal agency is still considering your claim, there is no time limit for you to file a law suit in federal court; the six-month time limit only begins ...

How long do you have to file a lawsuit?

You then have six months to file a lawsuit. If the federal agency rejects your claim or refuses to pay all the money damages you demanded, you have six months from the date on which the decision is mailed to you to file a lawsuit.

What is the best form to file an administrative claim?

Although not strictly necessary, the easiest way to prepare your administrative claim is to use the federal government's standard claim form, known as a Standard Form 95 or SF 95 , which has boxes for all the information you will need to provide.

How long does it take to respond to a SF 95?

Using a SF 95 form will help ensure that you've included all of the necessary information. The agency has six months to respond. Once your claim is submitted, the federal agency has six months to rule on it.

What is administrative claim?

For example, if your claim is based on an accident at the post office, you would file your claim with the U.S. Postal Service. During this phase of the process, while your claim is being reviewed by the federal agency, it is referred to as an "administrative claim.". Although not strictly necessary, the easiest way to prepare your administrative ...

How to get a copy of the 95 form?

You can get a copy of the form from the Department of Justice's website (at www.usdoj.gov, type "standard form 95" into the search box) or request a copy from the federal agency to which you will be submitting your claim. Here is an overview of how the administrative claim process works: You must file within two years.

How to pursue a malpractice case?

Before pursuing a legal malpractice case, pull together all relevant documents and information. Collect communications between you and your lawyer as well as information about the case that led you to hire the attorney in the first place.

What is negligence malpractice?

Damages in a negligence malpractice claim are quantified by what was recovered and what would have been recovered but for the attorney’s negligence. A typical example of negligence occurs when an attorney fails to file a case before the statute of limitations expires.

What are the common mistakes lawyers make?

However, we tend to see common mistakes that lawyers make over and over, including: 1 Inaccurate billing; 2 Missed deadlines; 3 Failing to communicate with the client; 4 Settling a lawsuit without the client’s consent; 5 Giving inaccurate legal advice; 6 Stealing or losing money or property that belongs to the client; 7 Incompetently drafting legal documents that do not protect your rights; 8 Failing to file a case before the expiration of the statute of limitations; and 9 Taking a case despite an existing conflict of interest.

What happens when a negligent lawyer falls below the standard of care?

When a negligent lawyer falls below this standard of care, they have committed legal malpractice.

What is breach of care?

Breach. A breach occurs when a lawyer fails to exercise reasonable care in your representation. For example, if the standard of care includes filing pleadings on time and your attorney misses an important deadline, they will have breached the standard of care.

What is a duty of care agreement?

Typically, a verbal or written agreement between the parties exhibits an attorney-client relationship. A duty of care requires an attorney to use the same care, skill, and diligence possessed by other lawyers in their community under similar circumstances.

What is an inaccurate billing?

Inaccurate billing; Missed deadlines; Failing to communicate with the client ; Settling a lawsuit without the client’s consent; Giving inaccurate legal advice; Stealing or losing money or property that belongs to the client; Incompetently drafting legal documents that do not protect your rights;

What happens if you don't act in probate court?

Unless the defendant arranged for everything in the estate to pass outside of probate (by using a living trust or other probate-avoidance device), there will probably be a probate court proceeding.

How long does it take to file a claim against an estate?

If you file a formal claim and the personal representative rejects it, you can file suit against the estate within three months of the rejection.

What to do if you don't get a notice of death?

If you don't get a notice of the death, you can still submit a claim. Find out whether or not there's a probate proceeding (and if so, who the personal representative is) by checking probate court records in the county where the defendant lived at the time of death.

How long does it take to get a death notice from a personal representative?

A personal representative who knows that you were owed money is required to send you, within four months after beginning to act on behalf of the estate, a notification of the death. The notice will advise you to make a claim by a certain deadline, set by law.

Can you sue someone who has died?

Learn the rules for suing someone who has died. You can still file a lawsuit or collect a judgment even if the defendant has died. You will direct your efforts at the deceased person's estate–that is, the property the person left behind. And you must act promptly; if you don't, your claim may be barred by law.

Who is the personal representative of a deceased person?

It's conducted by the estate's "personal representative"–the executor named in the deceased person's will or, if there is no will, an administrator appointed by the court. Usually, the surviving spouse or an adult child is the personal representative.

What is a breach of fiduciary duty?

Breach of fiduciary duty. Lawyers owe certain fiduciary duties to their clients, such as the duty of loyalty and duty of confidentiality. Your lawyer must act in your best interests and must keep your communications confidential.

What are the three types of lawsuits against lawyers?

Lawsuits against lawyers usually fall under three categories: negligence, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty . Negligence. Negligence is the most common grounds for a malpractice lawsuit. It happens when your attorney fails to use the skill and care normally expected of a competent attorney. For example, you might have grounds ...

What is a breach of contract?

Breach of contract. Breach of contract occurs when a lawyer violates a specific term of the lawyer’s agreement with a client. For example, if your contract says that your lawyer will create a corporation for you by a certain date, the lawyer must stick to that agreement. Breach of fiduciary duty. Lawyers owe certain fiduciary duties ...

What happens when an attorney fails to use the skill and care normally expected of a competent attorney?

It happens when your attorney fails to use the skill and care normally expected of a competent attorney. For example, you might have grounds for a negligence suit if your lawyer missed an important deadline, failed to prepare for trial, or failed to follow court orders. Breach of contract. Breach of contract occurs when a lawyer violates ...

How long does it take to file a malpractice case?

The time limit for filing a legal malpractice case can be as short as one year.

What happens if your lawyer doesn't listen to you?

If your lawyer isn’t communicating with you or listening to your wishes, this might get his or her attention. In some cases, the board might order the lawyer to compensate you for a clear financial loss —for example, if your lawyer took fund from your client account.

Can a lawyer breach his or her duty?

It’s not enough that your lawyer breached his or her duty. The breach must also have caused you a financial loss that you can prove. For example, suppose your lawyer missed the deadline to file a personal injury suit for you. While this would clearly be a breach, you would also need to prove damages: that you would have won your case ...

How to sue an executor for breach of fiduciary duty?

The Legal Process. When an executor breaches her fiduciary duty, you can sue her by filing a lawsuit for damages in civil court. You must establish that she does indeed have a fiduciary responsibility to the estate – she’s accepted the position of executor and this should be clearly confirmed by court documents.

What is the fiduciary duty of executor of will?

Fiduciary Duty. The executor of a will has a fiduciary duty to the estate and its beneficiaries – an obligation to always act in their best interests and not her own. This prohibits her from taking certain actions: She can’t make risky or unsafe investments or transactions on behalf of the estate.

What happens if you win a case?

If you win your case, the executor may be ordered to personally reimburse you for losses you and other beneficiaries sustained because of her actions. If the estate is still open, the executor will most likely be removed from office and someone else will be appointed to serve .

What to do if you believe someone is doing something wrong?

If you have reason to believe he is doing something wrong, you can file a show cause proceeding in many states . This isn't a whole new lawsuit, but a motion you'd make as part of probate case. You can ask the judge to order the executor to make a full accounting of what he’s done so far.

What happens if an estate loses money?

If the estate has already lost money or value, the accounting might provide pivotal, concrete evidence if you also choose to sue him in a separate civil action lawsuit. Beverly Bird is a practicing paralegal who has been writing professionally on legal subjects for over 30 years.

What to do if you haven't received anything?

If you haven’t received anything, this might be a good indication that something’s wrong. Keep a chronological diary of actions he’s taken that you consider wrong. The rules for filing a complaint with the court are the same as with any civil lawsuit, including doing so before the statute of limitations expires.

Can an executor sue for wrongdoing?

Beneficiaries and other interested parties – anyone who has a personal financial stake in the estate – can file a lawsuit against an executor for wrongdoing if the wrongdoing results in a financial loss.

3 attorney answers

Depends on what you wish to sue the State for!! Be aware of shorter statutes of limitations and the need for a notice of claim for many State actions.

Eliot M. Wolf

As Mr. Slick and Mr. Wolf indicated, you should seek counsel from some one familiar with bringing law suits against the state, and the type of lawyer depends on the nature of your claim.