Power of Attorney and Agent Fee Dispute

A Philadelphia agent and power of attorney fee dispute lawyer will help you prepare your case when you believe that a person serving in the important role of power of attorney or agent has exceeded his or her responsibilities by charging excessive fees. The decision to serve as the agent under a power of attorney, also known as an attorney in fact, is a choice that has a lot of responsibility as well as power.

The agent has to act on behalf of the principal and is held to the strictest standards of duty and loyalty exacted through Pennsylvania law. The principal says the terms of the power of attorney. The principal can also stipulate the compensation if the document hasn’t been written yet. Sometimes flexible terms are provided or this can be clarified as specific hourly rate. Anyone involved in the probate process who has a fiduciary responsibility could find themselves at the center of a probate dispute legal claim.

The principal usually allows for flexible agent and power of attorney fees, so this can make it challenging when you intend to file a fee dispute against this person. Reasonable fees are often considered as the benchmark for whether or not someone has exceeded his or her responsibilities. In most cases, in any power of attorney, the first place to look to determine the appropriate fees is within the document. Typically, a clause will be listed about how that agent should be compensated. The principal usually allows for flexible and reasonable compensation. This means that in the event that the agent has to step into any major work, such as managing all of the person's affairs while they are completely incapacitated, all the way down to simple actions, there is flexibility built into the document. Reasonable is also the default payment available to an agent or an attorney in fact when there have been no terms outlined or when the court has already reviewed the document and determined that it is unclear or ambiguous. Judges' opinions in Pennsylvania determine whether or not something is unreasonable or reasonable.

The evidence must be gathered in advance, especially since you have the burden of showing whether or not this person has violated expectations or laws. It’s too serious to leave a case like this in the hands of a person who has never managed something like this before, so make sure your attorney is on hand to help you with all aspects of the negotiation and legal claim. A lawyer can be a big help.

This means that you must have an agent and power of attorney dispute fee lawyer in Philadelphia to explain to you the way that a judge might review your case when figuring out whether something has been charged excessively. A probate dispute lawyer might be able to provide you with sample fee schedules and give you an idea of what to expect based on judge's opinions which can vary significantly from one county to another.

Before filing a lawsuit, your lawyer must be highly knowledgeable about the areas of law involved in determining whether or not excessive fees have been charged, and some of the common issues you might face in your case when the other side fights back and alleges that they have charged reasonable fees. Since each judge's interpretation will have a significant impact on the outcome of the case, you need to have a lawyer who knows whether or not it makes sense to move forward with the dispute or try to resolve outside of court.