danng
8/9/2016 09:00 EST
I have had a trustworthy lawyer for many years that has helped my family through some very difficult legal problems.But that trust went out the window when I asked him to make a will for me.He didnt bother to tell me that the will was free of costs from NOTARY if you are over 65 years of age and told me that I had to pay notary 200$ and his fee $50.but only to revoke previous will 10 years before.Then to make new will about $600.most of which went to notary which i later learned was complete lie since by law in ecuador the will for senior citizen is free of cost from notary.Things got much worse.I paid the lawyer to make a revocation of my previous 10 year old will. and then he made the revocation of will 3 pages with the problem being the last page which basically was a blank page with a place for my signature and 3 witnesses.I signed that last page and very worried about signing a blank page told the lawyer I wanted to make a copy of this paper which he said he couldnt do till the notary finished the revocation f the will and refused to let me make a copy of the revocation of the will with last page having my signature.Iasked him for 1 month for copy of that revocation of will and decided that I needed to hire another lawyer to go to untrustworthy lawyers office to discuss this revocation of will i signed on blank page.Bad lawyer told my second lawyer he had been too busy to do the revocation of will but would have it next week.I finally got the revocation of will that notary had stamped .I could immediately see my signature had been altered and language had been added that wasnt there before.Totally fraudulent. document.I then went with my new lawyer to office of notary to see my original document.The notary told me I couldnt see the original revocation of will only a copy and when i insisted the notary told me to go to court and get a court order to see the original.I and my new lawyer believe that the lawyer and notary are in conspiracy together and have made a new will leaving all my money and properties to somebody in their family or perhaps a power of attorney giving all my money and properties to the devil lawyer and notary or someone in their family.If I make a complaint to police .I have no real proof of fraud and could easily be sued for defamation by lawyer and notary for everything i own.What should I do????It s a mess and where can i find an honest lawyer in QUITO??? I thought my lawyer was honest after some 10 years of using him and he turned out not to be once he saw there was money he could rob from me.
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windshadow
8/9/2016 10:45 EST
It would be good to name the lawyer if what you are saying is true. What city did this take place in?
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nickspm
8/15/2016 00:49 EST
I'm not a lawyer, but I know what I would try to do.
If it happened to me, I would get the new lawyer to help me create an affidavit severing all ties with the old lawyer and notary---and negating that old will(s) once and for all .
I would then have the affidavit/declaration served to those two---and possibly send that to the local probate office(or the equivalent) in Quito. My new attorney would also have a copy of this on file---should something happen to me and any problems arise.
I might add an addendum to the will explaining why I am leaving my property to the people or institutions I have chosen. That way if my old lawyer tries to show up with an old will and say I wanted to leave everything to him or his wife or cousin---well that wouldn't really add up in a court...
Sometimes public notices are made in the paper in the classifieds. I might have something small printed in a local paper that declares the new lawyer to represent me in all matters relating to my will/estate from this day forward---and that all previous wills are null and void. A copy of this in a newspaper would give my new lawyer and new will more solid footing.
Also, I might make a video of myself reading the new will in the presence of the new lawyer. It might not be admissible---but I might not hurt either---should any questions of authenticity or intent arise.
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OceanHideaway
8/16/2016 01:17 EST
Sounds to me like you may have misunderstood something very important:
The fee for filing a will with the Notario when you are a jubilado is gratis.
The cost for having an attorney write up a will for does however, bear a cost.
If you are angry at your attorney for charging you for their work product: counseling you on your will, drafting your will, writing your will, and bringing you and your will to the notario, then you are in the wrong.
If I am misreading your complaint, please reply with a clearer outline of what took place.
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attyanne
8/16/2016 11:26 EST
I am an American attorney working with Ecuadorian attorneys to do end of life docs in Cuenca and it's tough because the rules are so very different but I'm sure there are notaries who will simply sign off on what you want, despite the fact that it may not be what is allowed here. 1/4 of the Ecuadorian codes are devoted to wills and testamentary dispositions.
There is a way around the property disposition IF you make arrangments BEFORE you die.
The problem is that under Ecuadorian law you MUST leave 50% to your spouse and 50% to be divided between your kids.
There are two types of wills - open (public) and closed (original held by the notary). If you do an open will there is absolutely no way around the disposition of your property. The notary simply cannot sign off on the will.
So the will must be "closed" and you have to hope that your heirs do not contest it.
In addition, if you are not a Spanish speaker, you cannot sign a Will that is in Spanish because you do not understand it. Therefore, you have to do a "closed" will.
I suggest you hire a new attorney to help you. I am associated with a Quito attorney. If you want his info, email me directly at anne@howardfamilylaw.com.
Best of luck.
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OceanHideaway
8/16/2016 20:59 EST
There is a bit more to Ecuador probate than the required per stirpes distribution of dower rights etc. And much more to the fact that a document in Spanish must be properly represented to a person to whom Spanish is not their native tongue.
In fact, there is also the matter of referencing to any probate documents that may be out of the country.
My strongest suggestion to the original poster who has worked ith his attorney for over a decade, according to his own admission, os to return to that attorney with an individual well versed in law who can help in discovery of what has in fact taken place.
In that matter, attyanne, you might indeed be of assistance.
That would be the most pertinent and useful manner in which to help the poster as well as not creating discord with a fellow member of the profession, especially if you are considering working in the field and presenting yourself as a legal advisor in this country. You are of course aware you cannot represent yourself as an attorney of Ecuador law without certain specific qualifications being met (above and beyond SENECYST approval of your degree).
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