Can I use another attorney for my mom's guardianship?

I am not honestly sure, but if you have found an attorney that you do have confidence in, ask them what could be done. I would not want to continue with an attorney who did not seem to know what they were doing. You have enough problems you do not need your attorney to add to the problems!

(cont) ... proceed against her. If her negligence resulted in monetary damages 2 u or mom, she has malpractice insurance. If emotional distress, not sure how 2 handle, depends on ur state laws. Undoubtedly there is a statute of limitations so u prob'ly hav a little time to think about it & do some research. If l were u, l wouldn't include the new atty in this process until later, if at all. Make it clear, calmly, that u want 2 b informed of all errors discovered as s/he looks over the existing papers. U may find other errors & omissions that affect u and/or mom substantially and nay need a malpractice atty 2 recover danages.

Hope this helps, write back if u need to...

Whew...l'm glad she didn't do THAT ! I think it should be fairly easy 2 change, altho there will be costs involved: new retainer, etc. In ur orig post u sa "now that I've met another attorney...", can u consult w/ that one or is it the wrong specialty? Or u may have to research for Elder Care or Probate attys, whatever is appropriate in ur state. Don't rely on an unknown atty to tell you; call your county or state bar assoc 2 direction. Many attys will give u a free consultation 2 determine if ur the right fit. Think of this as an interview and if ur not comfortable or confident, move on 2 another. Once uv come 2 an agreement w/ a new one, l believe s/he and urself will appear in court w/ a motion & the judge should authorize the change.

Then ask new atty if correct 2 WRITE old atty requesting up 2 date accounting & refund of any remaining retainer. If so, unless some really good legal reason not 2, YOU should write letter b/c u shouldn't hav 2 incur charges via the new atty 4 sonething simple u can do urself.

Further, dependong also on the response 4 refund request, if u have cause, ie documentation abt how 1st atty messed up, u can consider if u want 2

CarolLynn, let me clarify a few things for you. I am the guardian, and did obtain guardianship from the Probate court last month. The attorney did not make herself guardian over anything; the current attorney presides over it because she is listed as the attorney of record. She will be responsible for overseeing the annual report to the court, in addition to handling any issues that arise with my mom. She is responsible for communication with the court over every report. There are already several issues to be disputed with the hospital in terms of the quality of care, transporting her to another long term acute care facility, insurance coverage issues, retrieving copies of her medical records (she has been in the hospital for over six months) and other issues. I need a highly visible and effective legal presence particularly at the hospital to ensure my mom's multiple issues are being addressed. It's extremely difficult to accomplish this task when the attorney of record doesn't respond to your phone calls or emails on a timely basis, makes careless errors in written documents submitted to the court, and wants $3000 in advance or a retainer to address aforementioned issues without any discussion of working together to accomplish the goals or a timeline. She even put the wrong bank account numbers in one of the most recent court documents after the bank faxed over the most current statements. I was ill when I discovered it. I have to be satisfied with the caliber of work she is doing, and I can't justify spending that amount of money when she won't even have a conference with me to discuss it.

This is confusing... are you The Guardian or did the attorney make herself The Guardian? In what way is the attorney who prepared the guardianship "presiding" over the guardianship?

It probably would TAKE another attorney to be sure of whether a new attorney could totally take over or not. But you should be at least as free to change attorneys as you would be to change doctors, IMHO.

I remember how many times I had to fax or e-mail my parents' POA papers around - I kept digital and paper copies as handy as possible. You would think that just calling to try to arrange to pay a bill wouldn't require so much fuss, but EVERYBODY is as paranoid as if HIPAA applied to finance as much as it does to health care.

Maybe there are some papers in the house or safe deposit box that would give the name of your mother's lawyer?

I absolutely had NO confidence in my VA lawyer but when I asked my OH lawyer, who I trust, about changing lawyers, he told me that it is absolutely legal it just will cost your parent's estate a lot more money and it will lengthen the entire procedure. I looked into making a complaint with the Bar Association in Virginia but was warned that putting in a complaint before the settlement occurred could also lengthen the process. I received judgment a few weeks ago and I am planning on putting in a formal complaint. However, the entire process with this one lawyer was a nightmare and I wonder if it was worth it.

I had issues with the first attorney I used for guardianship. He even put some unknown person's name on one page of the document! I am not going to use him for further issues with the guardianship. The only legal issue I still have is the release of some funds in a bank account so I can purchase a handicap van for transport.
An additional comment, I was surprised that even the utility companies needed the guardianship papers before they would talk about his account!