Does Your Family Law Lawyer Spend More Time Billing You Than Working on Your Case?

June 20, 2019

How Long Does it Take?

            At Stewart & Riley, we often get this response: “my lawyer spent more time billing me for things that got nothing done in my case.” For example, emails between opposing counsel or staff that had little to not merit. Researching an idea that was never used. Handwriting the documents that have been filed in the court file to date when the lawyer could have simply printed out the docket from the clerk’s website, or saved the docket as a .pdf file to the client’s electronic file.


In other professions, this is what is infamously called “churning.” This can be tempting when a Family Law Lawyer in New Port Richey, Clearwater, or Tampa obtains a retainer upfront of anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 just to start. And if the $5,000 retainer gets down to $2,500 or the $10,000 retainer gets down to $5,000, then it is time for the client to replenish the retainer amount to its initial amount of $5,000 or $10,000 or more.


Family Law is ripe for churning fees when the lawyer could be counseling the client at an emotional time not to engage in litigation that may very well be harmful to the children. When you have children, they sense the most insecure and anxious moments in their parents’ lives, including fighting over parenting time, child support, or parenting responsibility or decision making when these things should be agreed to by the parties. You the clients are the people who should control your own destiny and mediating your case does not have to be expensive. There are extremely experienced and effective mediator who are willing to charge a minimum of 3 hours, no time for travel at $200 per hour to be split by the parties. Hence, each client is simply paying $300 for a top-notch mediator. In Pasco, Hernando, Hillsborough, and Pinellas Cases, Stewart & Riley prefers to use James E. Kelly, Esq. who has shown time and time again how to bring about a fair outcome for the parties involved.


We pride ourselves in resolving a great majority of our cases on a fair, flat fee and at or before mediation.


What we would like to encourage here at Stewart & Riley is that divorcing parties, particularly with children, reduce and mitigate whatever financial, emotional and physical stress is involved in a dissolution of marriage proceeding or a petition for paternity action. A divorce proceeding in New Port Richey, Florida is not that much different than one in Tampa, Florida. Why? Because Judges know the law and know that if parties can bring a resolution to their own case through mediation or private agreement without mediation, they are better off. Who prefers that the government (yes, a Judge is a government employee) tell us how to live, when to do things, what to pay, what not to do, etc.? Not any client that I have me. So thankfully, we are able to come to pre-trial agreements whenever possible in dissolution of marriage proceedings, modification of parenting plans, petition to modify child support, and other family issues.


Do not let Courts dictate your life and raise your children; we are all better than that. If we can be of assistance, please call us at 727-312-3748. If you make an appointment with us and would like to know what papers would be useful, you may want to look here.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Recent Posts

Law Firm Wins Reversal for Client in Commercial Lease Case

November 25, 2019
Attorney Brendan R. Riley won a victory for a commercial client this week, when the Circuit Appellate Court reversed a decision of the County Court, and sent an eviction and final judgment back to the lower court for retrial. The opinion can be found here. The Case When an auto mechanic approached Mr. Riley for help with an eviction, it seemed like a doubtful case. There was both a residential and a commercial lease involved, and time was running out to file an answer on the case. Mr. Riley reviewed the documents, and his firm spotted a possible weakness in the plaintiff's case. Residential leases and commercial leases are governed by two separate sections of Chapter 83 of the Florida State Statutes, and although they are similar, the sections differ in one critical section. The residential section, 83.60(2), requires deposit of rent into the court registry before the hearing to determine rent. The commercial section, 83.232(1), does not. The plaintiff requested relief based upon applying the residential chapter and section to both leases; and the lower court agreed. A Writ of Possession was issued on both properties. The Appeal Mr. Riley appealed the case based on this improper application of the statute. In an appeal, the district court of appeal (or any court sitting in an appellate capacity) can only review the court record, and the lower court judge's written order. In civil proceedings (unlike criminal where there is always at least an audible recording that can later be transcribed) transcripts are only made if the parties hire their own court reporter, so there was no transcript for the appellate court to review in this case. The appellate court agreed with Mr. Riley's position that the lower court judge should not have accepted the plaintiff's argument applying section 83.60(2) to both the commercial and residential leases. The appellate court also agreed that because no order had been made determining the amount of rent due, when the Appellant had moved for a hearing, that this needed to be done as well. The appellate court determined this was a harmful error. A harmful error is one which resulted in a miscarriage of justice and must be reversed. To correct this error, the default and final judgment for the commercial property, and the order issuing the Writ of Possession on the commercial property, were reversed, and that portion of the case remanded to the lower court for rehearing. The appellate court considered the same facts for the residential property, and found the error to be harmless. This is an error which, although a misapplication of law, does not rise to the same level of harm to the defendant. Since the correct section of the Statutes were applied to the residential property, the appellate court did not feel there had been harmful error, and the judgment and Writ were allowed to stand. The Outcome Most cases never go to appeal. To determine if a case rises to the level of harmful error, an appellate court must presume the lower court's rulings are correct, and the burden is on the Appellant (the one who brings the appeal) to show how the ruling was incorrect and why it should be reversed. It does not take a big law firm with fancy degrees and prestigious names to win appeals. Persistence, careful review, and knowledge of the law are what is needed to determine if an appeal is needed, and if it is, how it should be done. Stewart & Riley has the persistence, the knowledge, and the review and research skills to take an appeal all the way. If you may have a commercial or residential landlord tenant matter in which you need legal assistance or an appeal of some kind (provided you come to us timely so that a notice of appeal can be timely filed), do not hesitate to contact us a 727-312-3748 or BRR@BetterCallBrendan.com.

Guardianships, Dependency, Special Needs - the Other Sides of Family Law

October 25, 2019
There is a much smaller segment of Family Law, and one often overlooked until it’s desperately needed by the people involved; and then it might be too late to educate yourself. You just have to find an attorney and hope he or she (or their firm) is the right one for the job. But a little knowledge, in this case, can be a good thing, not a dangerous thing. This quick outline is not meant to give more than a little bit of knowledge, but it will be followed later by more detailed information. Guardianships, sometimes called adjudication, are intended to remove the freedom of choice from an individual who is not able to safely decide for himself or herself, and give it to someone (the “guardian”) who is deemed to be able to decide for them. A guardianship is not a power of attorney, which simply gives another person the right to make legal decisions for someone who is unable to make certain legal decisions for a specific period of time. A guardianship removes all decision-making ability from someone, usually permanently, and only after it has been determined that person cannot care for themselves. Guardianships are generally given in courts because of a person’s mental instability or physical disability; or if a child has no parents, but an adult wishes to be legally responsible for him or her. Dependency is the unfortunate situation that arises when a child must be removed from the parents and placed in the care of the state. The reasons for this are varied and never good; and the outcomes are rarely happy for anyone involved, including the courts. Legal action becomes an issue when for whatever reason the child must be removed from both parents and there are no close relatives with whom the child can immediately be placed. More issues can develop when relatives and parents begin haranguing the court and Child Protective Services (DFS, DCFS, etc.) demanding action. Dependency is a delicate, complex process, akin to juggling ferrets while riding a unicycle downhill through flaming razor blades, and needs a deft touch to negotiate. Special needs and all that it entails (IEPs, accommodations) may not be immediately thought of as Family Law, but it should be. Schools use parents’ ignorance of the law to ignore, deny, or disregard IDEA and 504 regulations, when they should not; and disability lawyers are often swamped with post-accident claims, veteran’s claims, and all the other slings and arrows man is heir to. Special needs and special education law is a unique niche that rests between family law and education law, and should be tucked away in any parent’s mind before a child begins having trouble in school. Hopefully, no family will ever have troubles that require thinking of these family law nooks and crannies. But by having them in mind ahead of time, the wise family will not be caught off guard if an issue arises requiring a specialized law firm with specialized knowledge to navigate these mysterious waters.

Perplexing Parenting - What Happens When Issues Arise?

October 24, 2019
Sometimes, parenting plans have to be designed for problems that seem impossible. Maybe one parent gets a job 500 miles away. Maybe one parent is incarcerated or abusive. Maybe things have changed in the household and now the former parenting plan just won’t work out. Even the most intractable of problems can be resolved by various parenting plan/timesharing templates already devised by the Florida courts. These can be refined by the parties, but the outlines already exist. All that remains is for the parties and their attorneys to determine what issues exist, and what format best serves the needs of the children and the living arrangements of the parents. Long-Distance Timesharing. Florida courts have a strong preference for 50/50 timesharing or something close whenever possible; but if one party lives more than 50 miles away (or outside a reasonable commute), or outside the state, then a long-distance plan is the only option. In a long-distance plan, the child or children will live during the school year with one parent, and then spend summers, and generally winter holidays, with the other parent. FaceTime, Skype, and phone calls are required. Supervised or Restricted Timesharing. In cases where there are allegations of abuse, criminal behaviour, or other issues which would negatively impact the child, one party may request supervised timesharing. Supervised timesharing may be carried out at a supervisory facility, or under the monitoring of an approved individual. Restricted timesharing may involve visitation being done at specific locations, or under certain conditions (such as only during the day, or not at the parent’s home). Courts generally want a specific result from supervised or restricted timesharing, and will not order it unless there are clear and convincing grounds for such restrictions. Rehabilitative Timesharing. Also called therapeutic or restorative timesharing, this type of visitation is ordered when a parent has become estranged from a child or has been absent from the child’s life for some reason, such as incarceration, illness, or foster placement. The court will order the estranged parent to be reunited with the child under conditions similar to supervised visitation, but usually with a therapist or counsellor to facilitate reunification. The goal of all of these types of modified timesharing is to bring and keep the child or children in contact with the parent in the least restrictive environment possible, while keeping all parties as safe and secure as reasonably feasible. As much as possible, the final goal is for the child to be able to live with both parents equally, without interference from the courts, and without oversight from any agency. The goal of an interested attorney in these proceedings is to smooth the path of the parent client and to keep their interaction with the court and the other party to a minimum, and to minimize the friction that seems to result when parents collide in court. Parents should consider hiring a competent pilot to steer their ship through the waters of court and avoid any icebergs in advance.