Can they change their lawyer? I am POA, Execter and Truster. Their lawyer is just a general attorney, not Elder Care Law Specialist.
I would prefer to start over with a new lawyer, since the former POA was having the lawyer do things that my parents did not like (and so they changed POA to me).
I also have problems with lawyer's billing practices, which did not seem ethical to me-- State Bar said I should file formal complaint, but I don't know if I want to go that far.
The current lawyer is nearing retirement anyhow.
I suppose the current lawyer charges a fee to transfer records to the new one?
Certainly you can find a new lawyer, but plan on paying billable hours for a thorough review, plus fees for any new Wills, DPOA etc if you can't find the originals. Search fees may also apply.
Requesting & getting those documents shouldn't be a problem, I expect. New POA, new approach...
I wish you success in handling your parents' arrangements & needs.
My issue is #1/ it should not cost that much money just to change a name or add a common sentence or check off a box (or un-check it); for a small subsequent change they wanted to do, I simply typed what they wanted and they had their signatures notarized on the new copies.
BUT, lo and behold, when we sent a slightly Revised copy to the lawyer office, to replace the one that was a few weeks old (but need a very small change), do you know what this (ahem this is my opinion) slimy lawyer did? He charged them $85.00 to read it, note the change, and place it in their File, and to update their digital files.
This kind of crap is what drives me nuts. It just costs too much money to simply DO what the parents want done.....it should never be this way. And I know I seem incredibly biased against lawyers, but, basically, they are too expensive for what they do.
Charging them money just to "file" something. Honestly.
As for transferring records, if your parents are going to draw up new Wills, POA's, etc. no records need to be transferred from the previous attorney. The new attorney can review the old documents and make whatever changes are necessary. Then once the documents are signed, the new attorney will notify the previous attorney that new documents were drawn/signed, thus the previous documents are no longer valid.
I am in the process of getting my parents in with an Elder Law attorney, which they should have done a decade ago, as their current Will is a landmine... it was drawn up by their real estate attorney. It took quite some time to convince my parents they need a specialized attorney for their estate.
$85 isn't an unfair charge for minimal updates, IMO, though.