Taxation & Estate Planning

Motions to Substitute

By Joel A. Schoenmeyer

Sometimes you (the probate attorney) may not want to keep acting as such. Maybe the client is difficult, or there's some other reason you'd like to step aside. Or, sometimes you (the client) decide you want to get rid of your attorney. Can you do these things?

The answer is yes, so long as there is someone willing to take on the case. In other words, probate judges (at least in Cook County) will let the current attorney step down as long as someone else is willing to step up. You can coordinate the transfer by presenting the court with a motion to substitute (signed by the client, the old attorney, and the new attorney) and an appearance form (signed by the old attorney, withdrawing his appearance, and the new attorney, entering his appearance). If you have these documents, the judge should give you what you want.

That being said, it's important for the client and the old and new attorneys to be on the same page with respect to things like fees (owed to the old attorney) and files (held by the old attorney).

Full post as published by Death and Taxes Blog on August 11, 2009 (boomark / email).