Expat Community > Costa Rica

bizibi
Joined 2003
Posts: 34

Lawyers, attorneys, abogados.

11 years ago

I recently saw reference to the Association of Residents of Costa Rica, which when I arrived here 17 years ago I joined but discovered they offered nothing that I really needed, so I did not renew my membership. They likely serve some needs admirably, guiding newcomers who speak no Spanish to services etc., but they should not be considered a guarantee or seal of approval of any profesional.
In June, I met an elderly couple who were just two days away from returning to the U.S. after buying a very expensive home here. Their lawyer was recommended by ARCR and the buyers plan to move here once their home in California is sold. Until at least their following brief visit in August, they were going to leave posession of the house with the seller, a suspected felon whose passport has been confiscated by the C.R. government to prevent his flight . Under provision of the rental law, the seller may have been able to retain posession for three years and no form of contract or agreement had been prepared.
The arrangement was changed at my suggestion and at delivery of posession, the angry seller complained that he was being evicted from his home, and the lawyer present, was visibly agitated. I discovered among papers handed to me by the buyers, that the lawyer had drawn up a Power of Attorney for him and his associate to perform certain acts on behalf of the buyers, including the right to rent the property, something never discussed nor contemplated.
The buyers asked if I would sleep at and manage the house for an indefinite period and a written agreement to that arrangement was prepared by my attorney. They told me that a housekeeper, who had worked for the seller for 14 years, would be there to clean and to prepare meals for me. When I asked if the woman had been liquidated by the seller with respect to her rights as an employee and if there was a contract with her, the answer was negative. The employee therefor also had to leave with the seller.
In the August visit, we examined the paperwork with care, together with my trusted attorney of many years. The corporation in the name of which the property is held, was not prepared in a fashion to meet the buyer’s clearly expressed wishes for an easy transfer to heirs in event of demise. Changes are now being made and the aforementioned Power of Attorney is being revoked.
Also in that visit, the buyers visited another recommended attorney who is handling their Pensionado residence process. He has already charged them $7,000 and suggested that he may have to charge them more, which they objected to and he dropped the request. I hope all will go well with this process, for which my attorney told me he would have charged an absolute máximum of $2,000.
I worked in real estate in California for many years and found both buyers and sellers to be very careful and attentive to detail. When they arrive here however, caution goes to the wind and they just hope for the best. Asking how people know they can trust their attorney, I have been told “Well he speaks really good English” or perhaps “He was introduced by our real estate agent and he is American.”
Although my Spanish is good, I do not (or did not) know much about the law and the lack of ethics here and before finding my present attorney had terrible experiences with others. All were recommended by someone or other but all three lied, two robbed me and one got away with it.

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