Florida Supreme Court Issues Opinion on Contingency Fees & Attorneys Fees: September 17, 2015
On September 17, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling affecting attorneys fees for Florida lawyers, including Palm Beach probate lawyers, and Florida lawyers who charge a contingency fee. Anyone involved in a Florida probate contingency fee case, or if there is an issue of what Florida attorneys fees are reasonable or not, should consider reading this new opinion issued by the Florida Supreme Court just yesterday. Here is a link to read about this Florida attorneys fee and contingency fee opinion: http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2015/sc14-2112.pdf
What do I need to know about attorneys fees for Florida probate or estate lawyers?
- All Florida estate attorneys fees must be reasonable
- What if you fire a probate lawyer from a Palm Beach estate?
- Can that fired estate lawyer still get paid? (Of course!)
- This recent Florida Supreme Court opinion on attorneys fees has both commentary and amendments to the rules regulating the Florida Bar
- If you are involved in a contingency fee estate case or a simple matter of what are reasonable Florida probate attorneys fees, you can always read Florida Bar Rule 4-1.5.
- This new opinion does address some new points of Florida Bar Rule 4-1.5 and Florida attorneys fees
- They seek to define “retainer” “flat fee” “advance fee” and want more clarity on whether client money or client funds given to a Florida lawyer “goes” into the law firm’s operating account or into the lawyer client trust account also known as IOTA.
- The Florida Bar also regulates all matters regarding client funds and client money and Florida law firms’ maintenance of IOTAs or IOTA accounts, sometimes called IOTA trust accounts
What about contingency fees for a Florida lawyer in a probate or estate case?
- This recent opinion does address some issues with Florida contingency fees
- Rule 4-1.5 (f)(4)(B)(iii) is added to acknowledge the provisions of Article 1, Section 26 of the Florida Constitution, and to create an affirmative obligation on the part of an attorney contemplating a contingency fee contract to notify a potential client with a medical liability claim of the limitations provided in that constitutional provision. issues with Florida contingency fees
- The opinion does touch base with Florida contingency fee issues
- Such as, contingency fees are prohibited in certain Florida domestic relation matters and also in criminal matters
- You may charge a contingency fee in a Florida probate lawsuit or estate matter if you can find a Palm Beach probate firm willing to take your case on a contingency fee. Why? Most Florida probate law firms don’t want to take your estate or trust lawsuit Boca Raton case on a contingency fee. But, there is at least one which will consider it.
- And in family law matters, or Florida domestic relations matters, like a Florida divorce, while most contingency fees are not allowed and are indeed permitted, there is one big exception
- In Florida divorce matters, the rule prohibiting contingency fees does not preclude a contract for a contingent fee for legal representation in connection with the recovery of post-judgment balances due under support, alimony, or other financial orders because such contracts do not implicate the same policy concerns.