Location: Florida
Hi all,
I’m looking for legal help or direction on how to move forward with my current divorce attorney. This was supposed to be a straightforward, uncontested divorce. We have a 6-month-old, but there is no custody battle, no disputed finances, and both parties are cooperative. The firm has already burned through my $8,000 I put down and now we are estimated to be contributing another $5,000—and we are STILL in the drafting phase.
I hired this firm 3 months ago and submitted everything they asked for within the first week from both sides in May: financials, disclosures, parenting details, etc. Despite this, the Parenting Plan and Marital Settlement Agreement were not drafted until until last week July. That initial version was clear, well-organized, and required only a few small edits—which I approved. Rather than finalizing that draft, someone at the firm completely rewrote the document without my consent. It appeared to be hastily assembled from a generic Florida parenting plan template and then significantly altered, introducing changes I never requested. The revised version was riddled with spelling errors, formatting problems, and arbitrary notes that were not discussed or authorized by me. I was then billed for the time it took to correct these issues—despite not having caused them in the first place.
To make things worse, I feel like I was baited and switched. I hired the firm thinking I’d be working with a senior attorney whose name and credentials were clearly listed. Instead, my case was passed off to a junior associate whose bio does not even appear on the firm’s website. This attorney, let’s call him Joe, has clearly struggled to stay up to speed on my case. I’ve had to repeat facts and re-explain basic details multiple times. I’m paying hundreds of dollars an hour for someone who seems to be constantly catching up.
Communication has been awful. I had to call them just to get the Parenting Plan, which was missing “Exhibit A.” I was told to come in and sign a new version, then told not to come—no explanation. Every time I ask questions, I get one-line email responses that barely address anything. I had to schedule (and pay for) a phone call just to get answers that should’ve been given months ago.
They keep charging me for things like:
- Multiple child support calculations (even though I’ve clearly said from day one this is 100% timesharing with me).
- Internal “status meetings,” document “re-reviews,” and admin tasks like scanning and resending files they already had.
- Petty charges for internal errors and corrections that I never asked for.
My husband has only seen one single draft of any document. There has been no negotiation, no disagreements—yet the case is being billed like we’re preparing for trial. This is supposed to be an uncontested divorce, and yet it’s been handled with zero urgency and complete disorganization.
I’m frustrated, exhausted, and feeling taken advantage of. All while caring for an infant and trying to wrap up a process that should’ve been done months ago.
What are my options at this point?
- Can I dispute some of these charges or request a refund for their mistakes?
- Should I switch attorneys this far in, or would that only make things worse?
- How can I ensure this firm stops profiting from its own disorganization?
Would appreciate any advice or guidance. I never thought I’d be spending this much time and money chasing down an attorney I hired to do this job. TYIA