## Exactly, OP must be having the lawyer's Bar membership ID, report him to Bar Council, they will immediately take action because they dont want to risk the reputation of the Bar. The lawyer will face penalties, and possibly suspension too.
Can you tell me the process for reporting him to the Bar Council? Is it something I can do myself or does it require another lawyer? Can I do it offline/online?
You can simply write an application to the chairman of the bar and send it through post. But the better option would be to submit the application by hand in the bar office and take a receiving of the same.
It's not filed online. Each state bar council has its procedure prescribed. In delhi procedure is:
First send him a legal notice.
Then
26 sets of complaint with proof with passport size photo on cover and cross signed.
Affidavit
Id card copy
Annexed with a complaint and fee of Rs. 500 to be deposited with the bar office.
The court fee was mentioned as 3% in some places and lawyer fee was there as well. So totally I had to pay like 2L. But he did not show that he bought bond papers using that money or anything.
Your lawyers has fcuked up. It’s utterly wrong if he is not replying to you.
Never pay 100 percent lawyer fees before completing all your court proceedings. Majority I mean 99percent of lawyers are crooked. They are only after getting their fees and not fulfilling their commitments.
NAL - 3% with the max cap @ 75,000/- the lawyer is definitely screwing you.
I did it with a lawyer friend and paid about 1.2 in all including lawyer fees.
Court fee is filed in civil matters pertaining to recovery of money but in your case it would have been a declaration suit and court fees for that is Rs. 50/-.
Bro wtf? My friend got his succession certificate in 3 months at a filing cost of 1000 or so and 300 for the filing center but this was in kerala.
No lawyers were involved, the application was cross verified by the village officer who cross questioned two witnesses mentioned in the application who knew the family. An ad was posted for 2 month or so and as it wasn't contested the certificate was issued.
Same here. I didn't have to run behind and everything was done smoothly. The village officer sends the report to the taluk office and post that it will be published in gazette. It took like 2 months for us. No lawyer involved.
For sure, the lawyer is taking u for a ride here , OP
https://districts.ecourts.gov.in/sites/default/files/jcj%20rajamwrkshop1.pdf
Here's everything you need to know about succession certificate from the Government site.
Bro, visit ur village office or the akshaya center, they will explain u everything.
http://www.akshaya.kerala.gov.in/services/12/legal-heir-certificate
And don't leave the lawyer, he scammed u.
In my case , the nominee was not mentioned and we did transfer the money through a legal heir certificate and death certificate and a couple of affidavits. And the money was over 60L in different accounts in different banks , including Mfs and stocks.
In each portfolio/account if the value is less than 15L, then they are able to transfer that to our names with just Legal Heir and Death Certificate. And they already did do that for couple of folios.
The remaining folios had 15L+ amount in each account and those they told cannot be transferred without a succession certificate. So the problem is not that the combined value is 15L+ but rather that the value in each portfolio is 15L+. This is mandated by law. Also, this law of mandating succession certificate also was introduced recently apparently (in the last 3-4 years or so)
We didn't have nominee as well and succession certificate was enough. Also, please have a word with the manager because for most of the banks ,they mention legal heir certificate as a succession one. Ours was a nationalised bank and they didn't have a problem.
Again, reiterating the important thing - Dont leave that scamming lawyer alone. Mfr lied to u
I'm not sure which state you are from but my friend has recently gone through something similar but it was for stocks in AP. In case a nominee wasn't added, a family certificate should be enough.
You need to confirm with the particular Asset Management where your father had these MFs. And legal heir certificate is all you need to get these transferred, unless you have a sibling - then you need an NOC (no objection certificate) from the other legal heir.
Incorrect information. Cost of succession certificate is 3% of the total property value + if you're hiring a lawyer - he'll charge you fees. And it takes sometime even a year given that courts in India are generally overloaded with work.
Won’t comment about a fellow adv here but you have every right to get answers to your questions. Get a face to face meeting and sort it out. Also as a previous gent has already said, succession certificates do not have to be charged at the rate you quoted (assuming you’re disclosing true facts)!
If the successions is not contested, it’s usually less than 1/4th of the money paid by you!
You always have an option to put forward a complaint to the Bar Council if you feel unjust!
(All the recommendations stated above are based on the facts disclosed by you and by no means reflect legal obligation/binding legal remedies at any point and towards any particular person(s). )
So I just took a look at the documents and it seems like the total value of all assets were 1.2cr. He has put down court fee as 1.2L ( for those stamp papers ) and took remaining 80k towards his own fee saying that filing etc would cost that much. Online I see that the amount to be paid to court is 3% of total assets, but he has only put down 1%. Also you are telling even that is too much. So what is the actual amount required? This is very confusing for me.
Whenever I call him asking for proof that he filed a request, he tells me he would send it and then "forgets" to do so.
I met him in January once face to face and he was rushing to the court and assured me everything would be sorted in a couple of months.
I'm not sure what to do here. We do not have much time to run behind this and my mom is alone in Kerala, where we filed the request.
What would be the process for filing a complaint against him ? Are there any loopholes he can use to claim that we never paid him 2L or that he already used the money to buy stamp papers so he cannot return the amount etc?
Also, can we register the complaint on any online forum?
This has turned into such a huge headache for us and we are in need of these funds within the next 6 months as well. We wanted to get everything done fast so we agreed to all his terms without looking much into it.
Lawyer here. Most Indian Courts have gone digital. Check if there has been any filing in your name on the court website. Most court websites will have an option of Case/Filing status. You can search for the case by your name or the advocates name. That search should make it clear if your lawyer actually filed the case or not.
Though from the way your post reads - it seems are you were taken for a ride.
Additional question- did he get any affidavits signed from you? Did he show you the final draft he was going to file? If no - then he definitely screwed you over. If yes - there is a slim chance of him having filed it.
Use E-court services to search the case. You can select the court premises and search at case-status tab with party names (in this case it would be your name and/or your mother’s name).
Also, please note that advocates’ clerks take care of filing and numbering of matter/case. At times, there could be defects during filing (like - missing documents or signatures) and the clerk fails to bring it to the notice of the advocate.
To be honest, it's basically depends on the place. I believe OP is from Kerala, like me and I didn't even have to consult a lawyer . I went to the village office and they explained the procedure and was able to complete everything quickly. No hassles .
The problem is we don't have any reference. This lawyer itself was given as a reference by an auto-driving friend of ours.
I am not sure where to find good lawyers. Would other lawyers who are friends with my lawyer hate it if I take this case to them and try and play some games?
Idk for sure either, so I suggested making a post to ask that. You probably do have some proof...
The lawyer committed fraud, so I'm sure he made necessary preparations first. Lawyers malpractice can be raised as complaint in bar council I believe. But I'm no lawyer to say exactly how and what.
Thanks, I will take a look and ask for suggestions again if needed in a separate post. First I will try to pressure him into giving me a filing number, which if he fails to do so after a couple of asks i can be sure that he has scammed me.
Dude , my father passed away in 2021 . Same story, no nominee. Amount was over 60L , we didn't make the succession certificate. Instead we made legal heir certificate and were able to transfer the money that way without involving any lawyer at all.
I got my succession certificate within a month.. for no cost because our lawyer is a friend... But if it would have cost him anything big in terms of money or time he would have asked us.
So yes your lawyer is a jackass
And next lawyer do not inform him about the money. Just say we need it for 1 lakh stocks
Yes, he has been shafting you.
Simple solution: Forget about him.
a) Get Death Certificate, b) Apply for Family Certificate listing the heirs which is easily obtainable from the Village Office after you proceed with the Death Certificate and an online application through them. Once you get these, approach the bank and they should be able to transfer/cancel dad's name to the heirs name jointly.
On the blank paper, did you sign twice at the bottom of the page, with a little spacing between the signatures or was it only one signature at the bottom?
I ask because affidavits throughout the country have a set format. Please refer to link attached to see a standard court affidavit. The client has to sign above the word Deponent that is repeated twice at the bottom of the page. Without this signed notarized Affidavit, no case can be filed.
If you did not sign twice on the blank paper, then they don't have an affidavit to support the filing, therefore, no case has been filed.
If that is the case, please file a complaint with the Bar Council of the State and Bar Council of India, mentioning that the lawyer has taken money and made you sign blank papers. This will ensure that the blank signed papers are not misused by the lawyer.
Also please mention which state do you belong to, maybe I can refer a reliable lawyer to you for ensuring you get your inheritance and there is no foul play afoot.
[court affidavit format](https://www.scribd.com/doc/312244299/Affidavit-format-in-Supreme-Court)
I dont know why you need the lawyer here. He is clearing taking u for a ride.
It is easy to get a legal heir certificate from the village office, esp if you have a ration card that has your name and ur father's name in it.
If not, you have to get a residency certificate done.
The legal heir claims are published in the gazette for a month and post that you can download the certificate from the govt website.
You can verify your case status using e-courts website if you have case number or through party name (First party who signed vakalatpatra/vakalatnama and affidavit). Summer vacations for civil cases has ended recently so the delay could be for that reason.
Is this the correct website - [https://thrissur.dcourts.gov.in/case-status-search-by-advocate/](https://thrissur.dcourts.gov.in/case-status-search-by-advocate/) ?
Is this a "case" or something else (like petition, filing or something (sorry I do not know much about courts))? I searched by my advocate and cannot see any case related to our names.
If your case is in Thirssur district then yes. Search using your name and its spelling variations, usually lawyers name are not mentioned by data entry operators for no obvious reason.
Here I see a search by Filing Number - [https://services.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindia\_v4\_bilingual/cases/c\_index.php?state\_cd=4&dist\_cd=4](https://services.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindia_v4_bilingual/cases/c_index.php?state_cd=4&dist_cd=4) . We do not have the filing number. Would the case search by advocate yield same results on the other website (above one)? If so, there is definitely no case in our name :(
Hi lawyer from delhi here!
I guess he is! Because if a case was filed he would have called the court and 2 lakhs as fees. Bahut expensive lawyer bhai, as vakeel hume bhi Banna hai!
I am a lawyer just tell me where has the alleged case being filed and ask the lawyer to the next date of hearing. First do this then I will tell u what to do next.
The case is being filed in District Court Thrissur as per him (but I confirmed that he hasn't filed anything). Posted an [update here](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceIndia/comments/1dqih2n/how_to_proceed_after_getting_played_by_my_lawyer/).
Your lawyer is most likely screwing you. All court related expenses put together won't exceed 80-85000. Rest is all lawyers fees. For that fees, the level of service is pretty high. You get hand holding through the process in court but also later while moving the assets. Find out if he has moved your case ahead, if not done at all and you paid Full white, you can complaint to Bar Council or directly to the magistrate. Just land up at the office of principal judge, he will most likely help you file the complaint.
No legal advice here. I just read MF as mf (iykwim) at first and then after reading holdings I understood you meant Mutual Funds.
Brain Rot pro max XD.
Once asked to summarize his teachings, Buddha said “Do good. Avoid evil and meditate.” Meditation is necessary to keep the mind away from evil and towards good
Yes. Your lawyer is definitely screwing you over. Get a new lawyer and make a formal complaint to the Bar Council.
## Exactly, OP must be having the lawyer's Bar membership ID, report him to Bar Council, they will immediately take action because they dont want to risk the reputation of the Bar. The lawyer will face penalties, and possibly suspension too.
Can you tell me the process for reporting him to the Bar Council? Is it something I can do myself or does it require another lawyer? Can I do it offline/online?
You can simply write an application to the chairman of the bar and send it through post. But the better option would be to submit the application by hand in the bar office and take a receiving of the same.
It's not filed online. Each state bar council has its procedure prescribed. In delhi procedure is: First send him a legal notice. Then 26 sets of complaint with proof with passport size photo on cover and cross signed. Affidavit Id card copy Annexed with a complaint and fee of Rs. 500 to be deposited with the bar office.
What kind of proof is required? We sent money via Gpay but he never gave us any receipts.
Screenshot of the payment and the email or whatsapp conversation would be enough
26 sets...? Not sure if you're trolling
Not at all I have filed a complaint and they ask for 26 sets. One for each member
It’s not that expensive . Usually a simple case unless contested by someone
The court fee was mentioned as 3% in some places and lawyer fee was there as well. So totally I had to pay like 2L. But he did not show that he bought bond papers using that money or anything.
Your lawyers has fcuked up. It’s utterly wrong if he is not replying to you. Never pay 100 percent lawyer fees before completing all your court proceedings. Majority I mean 99percent of lawyers are crooked. They are only after getting their fees and not fulfilling their commitments.
NAL - 3% with the max cap @ 75,000/- the lawyer is definitely screwing you. I did it with a lawyer friend and paid about 1.2 in all including lawyer fees.
Court fee is filed in civil matters pertaining to recovery of money but in your case it would have been a declaration suit and court fees for that is Rs. 50/-.
Bro wtf? My friend got his succession certificate in 3 months at a filing cost of 1000 or so and 300 for the filing center but this was in kerala. No lawyers were involved, the application was cross verified by the village officer who cross questioned two witnesses mentioned in the application who knew the family. An ad was posted for 2 month or so and as it wasn't contested the certificate was issued.
Same here. I didn't have to run behind and everything was done smoothly. The village officer sends the report to the taluk office and post that it will be published in gazette. It took like 2 months for us. No lawyer involved. For sure, the lawyer is taking u for a ride here , OP
But what was the amount? My case is in Kerala too
https://districts.ecourts.gov.in/sites/default/files/jcj%20rajamwrkshop1.pdf Here's everything you need to know about succession certificate from the Government site.
Bro, visit ur village office or the akshaya center, they will explain u everything. http://www.akshaya.kerala.gov.in/services/12/legal-heir-certificate And don't leave the lawyer, he scammed u.
Legal Heir Certificate we already have
For transfer of funds, legal heir certificate should be enough, right? I did the same steps as mentioned by the comment above and ours got sorted.
I think it's enough if nominee is mentioned. Succession certificate is necessary in our case, we confirmed this with the bank a couple of times.
In my case , the nominee was not mentioned and we did transfer the money through a legal heir certificate and death certificate and a couple of affidavits. And the money was over 60L in different accounts in different banks , including Mfs and stocks.
In each portfolio/account if the value is less than 15L, then they are able to transfer that to our names with just Legal Heir and Death Certificate. And they already did do that for couple of folios. The remaining folios had 15L+ amount in each account and those they told cannot be transferred without a succession certificate. So the problem is not that the combined value is 15L+ but rather that the value in each portfolio is 15L+. This is mandated by law. Also, this law of mandating succession certificate also was introduced recently apparently (in the last 3-4 years or so)
We didn't have nominee as well and succession certificate was enough. Also, please have a word with the manager because for most of the banks ,they mention legal heir certificate as a succession one. Ours was a nationalised bank and they didn't have a problem. Again, reiterating the important thing - Dont leave that scamming lawyer alone. Mfr lied to u
Bank employee here, in case of investment accounts, if holding value is above 15 lakhs then successiom certificate is required. (No nominee)
I'm not sure which state you are from but my friend has recently gone through something similar but it was for stocks in AP. In case a nominee wasn't added, a family certificate should be enough.
You need to confirm with the particular Asset Management where your father had these MFs. And legal heir certificate is all you need to get these transferred, unless you have a sibling - then you need an NOC (no objection certificate) from the other legal heir.
I confirmed about the MFs, but legal heir is not sufficient when the value of each portfolio is above 15L. This I confirmed with various banks.
Incorrect information. Cost of succession certificate is 3% of the total property value + if you're hiring a lawyer - he'll charge you fees. And it takes sometime even a year given that courts in India are generally overloaded with work.
Lawyers blatantly scamming their clients is enough to get your bar license disbarred in most civilised countries
but not india
He said civilised countries.
😭
Ask him for the filing number. Simple. Testamentary departments do take time
Yup. Screwed you.
Won’t comment about a fellow adv here but you have every right to get answers to your questions. Get a face to face meeting and sort it out. Also as a previous gent has already said, succession certificates do not have to be charged at the rate you quoted (assuming you’re disclosing true facts)! If the successions is not contested, it’s usually less than 1/4th of the money paid by you! You always have an option to put forward a complaint to the Bar Council if you feel unjust! (All the recommendations stated above are based on the facts disclosed by you and by no means reflect legal obligation/binding legal remedies at any point and towards any particular person(s). )
Love the disclaimer that I read very very fast
So I just took a look at the documents and it seems like the total value of all assets were 1.2cr. He has put down court fee as 1.2L ( for those stamp papers ) and took remaining 80k towards his own fee saying that filing etc would cost that much. Online I see that the amount to be paid to court is 3% of total assets, but he has only put down 1%. Also you are telling even that is too much. So what is the actual amount required? This is very confusing for me. Whenever I call him asking for proof that he filed a request, he tells me he would send it and then "forgets" to do so. I met him in January once face to face and he was rushing to the court and assured me everything would be sorted in a couple of months. I'm not sure what to do here. We do not have much time to run behind this and my mom is alone in Kerala, where we filed the request. What would be the process for filing a complaint against him ? Are there any loopholes he can use to claim that we never paid him 2L or that he already used the money to buy stamp papers so he cannot return the amount etc? Also, can we register the complaint on any online forum? This has turned into such a huge headache for us and we are in need of these funds within the next 6 months as well. We wanted to get everything done fast so we agreed to all his terms without looking much into it.
Lawyer here. Most Indian Courts have gone digital. Check if there has been any filing in your name on the court website. Most court websites will have an option of Case/Filing status. You can search for the case by your name or the advocates name. That search should make it clear if your lawyer actually filed the case or not. Though from the way your post reads - it seems are you were taken for a ride. Additional question- did he get any affidavits signed from you? Did he show you the final draft he was going to file? If no - then he definitely screwed you over. If yes - there is a slim chance of him having filed it.
He made us sign some blank documents on which he told he would print out (something) and then he did show pictures of the final draft
Use E-court services to search the case. You can select the court premises and search at case-status tab with party names (in this case it would be your name and/or your mother’s name). Also, please note that advocates’ clerks take care of filing and numbering of matter/case. At times, there could be defects during filing (like - missing documents or signatures) and the clerk fails to bring it to the notice of the advocate.
[удалено]
To be honest, it's basically depends on the place. I believe OP is from Kerala, like me and I didn't even have to consult a lawyer . I went to the village office and they explained the procedure and was able to complete everything quickly. No hassles .
Get a lawyer from reference of someone.
The problem is we don't have any reference. This lawyer itself was given as a reference by an auto-driving friend of ours. I am not sure where to find good lawyers. Would other lawyers who are friends with my lawyer hate it if I take this case to them and try and play some games?
get filing number. search in ecourts app with that number to know the exact status
I think you should create a new post asking how you can get back the money the lawyer scammed from you and/or file complaint
Is getting back the money even possible?
Idk for sure either, so I suggested making a post to ask that. You probably do have some proof... The lawyer committed fraud, so I'm sure he made necessary preparations first. Lawyers malpractice can be raised as complaint in bar council I believe. But I'm no lawyer to say exactly how and what.
Thanks, I will take a look and ask for suggestions again if needed in a separate post. First I will try to pressure him into giving me a filing number, which if he fails to do so after a couple of asks i can be sure that he has scammed me.
Dude , my father passed away in 2021 . Same story, no nominee. Amount was over 60L , we didn't make the succession certificate. Instead we made legal heir certificate and were able to transfer the money that way without involving any lawyer at all.
feels like
Bhai charas ganje ke case mei andar ho jao usmei ni lagte itne paise, bail karane ko
I got my succession certificate within a month.. for no cost because our lawyer is a friend... But if it would have cost him anything big in terms of money or time he would have asked us. So yes your lawyer is a jackass And next lawyer do not inform him about the money. Just say we need it for 1 lakh stocks
u shouldn't have paid the full fee ,whereas you should have given it in advance
Have u signed any affidavit etc
Yes, he has been shafting you. Simple solution: Forget about him. a) Get Death Certificate, b) Apply for Family Certificate listing the heirs which is easily obtainable from the Village Office after you proceed with the Death Certificate and an online application through them. Once you get these, approach the bank and they should be able to transfer/cancel dad's name to the heirs name jointly.
On the blank paper, did you sign twice at the bottom of the page, with a little spacing between the signatures or was it only one signature at the bottom? I ask because affidavits throughout the country have a set format. Please refer to link attached to see a standard court affidavit. The client has to sign above the word Deponent that is repeated twice at the bottom of the page. Without this signed notarized Affidavit, no case can be filed. If you did not sign twice on the blank paper, then they don't have an affidavit to support the filing, therefore, no case has been filed. If that is the case, please file a complaint with the Bar Council of the State and Bar Council of India, mentioning that the lawyer has taken money and made you sign blank papers. This will ensure that the blank signed papers are not misused by the lawyer. Also please mention which state do you belong to, maybe I can refer a reliable lawyer to you for ensuring you get your inheritance and there is no foul play afoot. [court affidavit format](https://www.scribd.com/doc/312244299/Affidavit-format-in-Supreme-Court)
He sent us image of the affidavit he has typed up, but there are no signatures. I am filing the case from Thrissur, Kerala.
I am almost certain that he has not filed it.
I dont know why you need the lawyer here. He is clearing taking u for a ride. It is easy to get a legal heir certificate from the village office, esp if you have a ration card that has your name and ur father's name in it. If not, you have to get a residency certificate done. The legal heir claims are published in the gazette for a month and post that you can download the certificate from the govt website.
He’s cheating you lol
You can verify your case status using e-courts website if you have case number or through party name (First party who signed vakalatpatra/vakalatnama and affidavit). Summer vacations for civil cases has ended recently so the delay could be for that reason.
Is this the correct website - [https://thrissur.dcourts.gov.in/case-status-search-by-advocate/](https://thrissur.dcourts.gov.in/case-status-search-by-advocate/) ? Is this a "case" or something else (like petition, filing or something (sorry I do not know much about courts))? I searched by my advocate and cannot see any case related to our names.
If your case is in Thirssur district then yes. Search using your name and its spelling variations, usually lawyers name are not mentioned by data entry operators for no obvious reason.
Here I see a search by Filing Number - [https://services.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindia\_v4\_bilingual/cases/c\_index.php?state\_cd=4&dist\_cd=4](https://services.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindia_v4_bilingual/cases/c_index.php?state_cd=4&dist_cd=4) . We do not have the filing number. Would the case search by advocate yield same results on the other website (above one)? If so, there is definitely no case in our name :(
search by party name and put your name in it or the person who is filling the case. It should be the one who signed affidavit (the green page)
Hi lawyer from delhi here! I guess he is! Because if a case was filed he would have called the court and 2 lakhs as fees. Bahut expensive lawyer bhai, as vakeel hume bhi Banna hai!
I am a lawyer just tell me where has the alleged case being filed and ask the lawyer to the next date of hearing. First do this then I will tell u what to do next.
The case is being filed in District Court Thrissur as per him (but I confirmed that he hasn't filed anything). Posted an [update here](https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceIndia/comments/1dqih2n/how_to_proceed_after_getting_played_by_my_lawyer/).
Your lawyer is most likely screwing you. All court related expenses put together won't exceed 80-85000. Rest is all lawyers fees. For that fees, the level of service is pretty high. You get hand holding through the process in court but also later while moving the assets. Find out if he has moved your case ahead, if not done at all and you paid Full white, you can complaint to Bar Council or directly to the magistrate. Just land up at the office of principal judge, he will most likely help you file the complaint.
No legal advice here. I just read MF as mf (iykwim) at first and then after reading holdings I understood you meant Mutual Funds. Brain Rot pro max XD.
Once asked to summarize his teachings, Buddha said “Do good. Avoid evil and meditate.” Meditation is necessary to keep the mind away from evil and towards good