<p>I’m already on record (i.e., post #5) as recommending “don’t pay your neighbor’s lawyer.” But if you feel you should contribute, I like younghoss’ suggestion … make a contribution to your neighbor.</p>
<p>I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t know if paying the neighbor’s lawyer creates an implied contract. I do know that SOME lawyers will keep billing until the payor stops paying. I once got a $500 invoice for what was really no work at all … “Check voicemail, 10 minutes, $75” and stuff like that. I figured it was a one-time thing, so I paid the bill. Almost immediately a new $700 bill arrived … part of which was “Read Finding, 20 minutes, $150.” Read the Finding, oh yeah, that two-sentence note-to-file that read “Executor updated Probate Court on status of Estate. No Court action required at this time.” </p>
<p>I’m not saying the neighbor’s lawyer would do this. I’m just saying it’s tempting to conclude “Gee that was easy, I send Consolation a bill and I get a check. Clearly I should send more bills.”</p>
<p>I get your point, younghoss, but it is also true that out of this deal we have gotten an additional half acre of land and a free survey of our property. Yes, this is in exchange for giving a ROW for someone to build a driveway over a piece of land at the far end of our lot, and yes, we didn’t HAVE to do it, but it is also true that our neighbor is trying to sell this lot in order to make it economically feasible to buy out the rest of his siblings and hold onto the large piece of land his parents owned, something for which I have sympathy. (Actually, our house used to be part of this parcel, and they grew up in it.)</p>
<p>Maybe I’m just a soft touch. :)</p>
<p>If we do send a check, it will be accompanied by a letter that states clearly that this is a goodwill gesture only, that the check is to cover itemized out of pocket costs to do with registering our deeds, that we did not retain him and this does not represent a retainer, and that we will not pay any further legal bills or costs.</p>
<p>There would be a certain sneaky satisfaction in sending our neighbor a solicitous note that says, “gee, we heard from atty X that you are having a hard time paying your legal bills, so hard that he asked US to pay them, which of course we won’t do, since we didn’t hire him, but here’s $500 to help you out.” Maybe that would make him ashamed to have asked…</p>
<p>^^ If you want to throw some goodwill cash into the mix, which I can understand in this situation – why would you send it to the attorney? Give it directly to the neighbor. Then tell the attorney that you’ve now “done what you feel you can do” and that’s the end of it as far as you’re concerned.</p>
<p>Or maybe it would make him angry, if the reason for your billing wasn’t the neighbor’s delinquency(referring to last para, post 42.</p>
<p>While I may not agree, I understand your sympathies to neighbor- Family home, trying to buy family land, had a lot of expenses, etc. I can understand you have the money and the desire to help him. Can you now please explain how sending a check to his atty, for services you did not contract for helps the neighbor that you have sympathies for?</p>
<p>Consolation-
Have you considered using the “I’m so confused” approach? Rather than shaming the neighbors with knowledge that they are being slight deadbeats with their lawyer, you could consider the “we are confused - we received a bill from your attorney, and of course we did not retain him so do not understand why he woudl bill us. Perhaps you could advise him not to send bills to us?” Or something like that. You can always later pull out the “we spoke with your attorney and…” as you know why he billed you, but this way you allow the neighbors to save face, and they can hopefully tell their attorney not to do that again (as it is embarassing). IF they tryt to tell you that you are responsible for some costs, you can politely remind them later that that is now what you agreed upon. Good luck.</p>
<p>In post 30, Consolation says:
“Our neighbor has probably spent an arm and a leg getting the land surveyed–it was quite complex, with all sorts of never-formally-surveyed out-conveyances and such going back at least 150 years–plus legal fees…” So I am still waiting to hear why neighbor’s atty is deserving of a goodwill ge$ture. If anyone, wouldn’t it be the neighbor?</p>
<p>I would imagine the OP will have to have a current, new survey done if and when the property is sold down the line.The neighbor had it done now it seems because there was something in it for him. I’m not sure the survey that was done would hold up in a property transfer down the line ? I thought surveys have to usually be done again any time a property is sold but perhaps I am mistaken. I’m also confused how the neighbor’s attorney has any claim on this at all, unless the neighbor has indicated to their attorney that they had some kind of verbal agreement to split costs on all of this with the OP. I would think paying anything at all on this could ,as others have said,cause problems.</p>
<p>Where I am…that survey that was just done would be recorded as part of the land records. </p>
<p>Many times neighbors do things that benefit others…but that doesn’t mean the OTHERS should be paying the bills (unless they have agreed to do so). Our neighbor had some wonderful landscaping done at the top of the driveway…our mailboxes are next to each other. It enhances our driveway top as well as his…but I can tell you…if I got a partial bill from his landscaper, I would NOT pay it. I did not contract him to do the work.</p>
<p>You didn’t contract this lawyer to do ANY work. You simply agreed to a land deal that would benefit the other folks.</p>
<p>I’m with others…you did not agree to pay this bill prior to the service being done. Do not pay.</p>
<p>I thought surveys have to usually be done again any time a property is sold but perhaps I am mistaken.
This isn’t true in our area-</p>
<p>I just had a lot survey done, but they are legal documents & don’t have to be done over every time a property is sold- just when you may be changing something.</p>
<p>Some of the survey stuff may depend on the mortgage requirements(what they want to see to lend) and the state and locality requirements. I personally would want to see a new survey before I bought a property to make sure there were no new fences,encroachments,etc. since the last sale.</p>
<p>Around here new surveys generally only get done if the building department requires them (some want to see contours and none of the old ones include them). For any additions I need a survey, but usually the owners dig up surveys that are 40 or 50 years old.</p>
<p>When we bought the property we own, the owners had to provide information & documentation about the survey. This is where the information that the party walls along 3 sides of the property were zigging & zagging along the property line & the seller had to get that cleared up before the deal closed. As I recall, he paid ALL of it & I’m positive NONE of the neighbors were billed or paid for any of it. There had to be a new survey because they couldn’t find all the rebars/pins from the prior survey. The seller paid that as well. My memory may be faulty as it was decades ago, but I don’t think so.</p>
<p>And it isn’t true in my area(referring to post 47)
I’ve bought/sold nearly 20 houses the last 20 yrs, only had 2 surveys, 1 because I wanted to be certain of a property line and couldn’t find previous bars, and 1 only because I intended to build a garage and had to be certain of exact line to meet zoning requirements. In my experience, it wasn’t just S.O.P. anytime a property is sold.</p>
<p>sevmom, we would not have to have a new survey done. (In fact, the property has changed hands several times without every being surveyed, which caused problems, as we discovered…) The surveyor agreed to put our names on the survey as well as our neighbors, which means we can use it in the future.</p>
<p>I’m really not interested in helping out our neighbor financially, and would never send HIM money. That was just a joke. He is undoubtedly far more financially secure than we are. While we obviously have no obligation to contribute at all, paying the out of pocket costs is a reasonable goodwill gesture that may stave off resentment down the road. We do have to live here, and being at war with your neighbors is not a good idea. I really do not think that it will result in any appearance of further obligation on our part.</p>
<p>In our area, a survey gets done every time a property is sold. Seller pays. We have a copy of the report from when we bought this house. Heck, DH went back and looked up title info going back 100 years. :eek:</p>
<p>That sounds expensive. The markers don’t move & unless the surveyors didn’t know what they were doing, what is the reasoning for doing with every sale?
( we have some streets where there is a lot of turnover)</p>
<p>We have an old house too- 1903. One of the first in the neighborhood.</p>
<p>“Around here new surveys generally only get done if [an authority] requires them …”</p>
<p>True around here too. It could be a building dept in the case of construction (e.g., “the garage needs to be 25’ from the line … so where’s the line in that area?”), or if a line is disputed or redrawn, or if the property is being subdivided, or if the property is being sold (mortgagers want to know what they’re loaning money for), or if the property is part of an estate, or if the property is being rezoned, or if the property is part of a divorce settlement, etc.</p>
<p>Of course none of these apply to Consolation. A couple do apply to the neighbor. (Hint, hint.)</p>
<p>Consolation, you confuse me. Yoy say you will pay nothing to the neighbor. But you also say you want to pay their atty a goodwill gesture payment because you don’t want to be at war with your neighbors. How does paying money to an attorney instead of your neighbor help with good will for your neighbor?
And just for the record, while you may feel “I really do not think that it will result in any appearance of further obligation on our part” everyone here that has commented on that aspect disagrees with you. By the way, I am still waiting on your mailing address so I can bill you for part of my roof repair.</p>
<p>“By the way, I am still waiting on your mailing address so I can bill you for part of my roof repair.”</p>
<p>younghoss - I don’t know if you retained a lawyer to assist you getting that roof repair approved. If so, I’d like to pay part of his bill … a goodwill gesture to him for helping you out. (After all, your repaired roof benefits me directly because amy water damage to your house raises my insurance rates.)</p>
Maybe that would make him ashamed to have asked…</p>