Michael J:
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QUOTE(Michael J. @ May 24 2012, 03:51 PM)
Good day all,
I need some urgent advice on a situation here regarding a piece of property I've sold.
How should I go about dealing with a law firm which had not followed specific instructions on transfer of title for a piece of inherited property?
Instead of following instructions of transferring my late mother's portion (50%) of the property under my name, the lawyers had transferred the property entirely to me (i.e. both my mother and father's portions). This would not have been a big issue, except that under the same lawyer's counsel, we were told that we could sell the property during the interim, which did take place, and the S&P with the buyer signed. Now that we've received the 1st transfer of title (i.e. the supposed transfer of my mother's portion into my name, which the law firm botched up), we just found out the mistake made by the lawyer.
The law firm has vehemently denied their mistake when confronted, instead placing the blame on us. To make things worse, the lawyer involved with doing our documents is on long leave, and not contactable. We've shown proof of intent, including an invoice issued by the law firm indicating that only my mother's portion of the property was to be transferred under my name. Still, they have refused to admit to their mistakes. We have tried seeking help from the Bar Council, but they have not been of much help either. FYI, the mistake they've made will cost us much financial bearings (ie. cost for redoing the S&P with the buyer, income tax on 100% of the property instead of 50% on my portion), and further delays. The lawyer told us it would take only 1 year for the 1st transfer to take place, but we had waited 3 years before the lawyer told us we could sell the property, and since signing the S&P, we've waited another 1 year.
Could anyone please advise me on the best course of action in this instance? The property is leasehold, and requires the endorsement from the State Exco. So far, the State Exco has been very helpful, assuring us that as long as we redo the S&P, it is possible for their side to speed up the process to reduce any further delays (although it would still take about 1 month). The "reason" given was delay at the state land office, which we found out was not the case, i.e. the lawyer was deliberately delaying the process (no idea why).
My father and I are very unhappy about the situation, and would like to take the lawyer, and the law firm to task.
It is very important at the outset to have evidence in black and white stating your instructions to transfer your late mother's half-share to you and nothing more. Otherwise, they may deny it (since there is a problem now) and then it would be your word against theirs.
If I may ask - if your instructions were to transfer just your mother's half share to you, then your father would not need to execute the MOT. Why did your father execute the MOT to transfer his half-share to you, if that was not his intention?
However, the fact that they have prepared the SPA with you and your father as vendor when in fact, the property has been transferred solely in your favour is clear cut case of negligence.
The Bar Council would not intervene as it is the Advocate & Solicitors Disciplinary Board (ASDB) which will handle complaints against Members of the Bar.
See the link to the ADSB's website for further info.
Before you file a complaint, it would be advisable to gather more evidence in support of your case, by simple writing a letter to the lawyer, demanding for an explanation and clarification as to the state of affairs. You need to write a complete summary of events, from the initial appointment and instructions, to what has ended up now. Demand for explanation and clarification as to how it can turn out this way. Send in the letter BY HAND and get it ACKNOWLEDGED with the LAW FIRM'S SEAL/CHOP. Don't send by ordinary post or even AR Registered. Send it in by hand. In your letter you can give them 7 days to reply failing which you will report to the ASDB.
Upon receipt of their letter, if you do reply, then you need to decide your next step of action:
1. You can accept their explanation and close the matter.
2. You can act on your own and draft a complaint to be filed with the ASDB.
3. You can appoint a lawyer to issue a letter of demand to the lawyer, failing which the would draft and assist you to file a complaint with the ADSB.
4. You can further instruct your lawyer to file a civil suit in the Court for damages arising from the negligence.
May 18 2012, 10:40 AM
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