Estate lawyer's activities queried

Posted on August 18, 2006 by Juan Antunez

In Florida, trustees and personal representatives have an affirmative statutory duty to keep trust and estate beneficiaries informed (see new Ch. 736 for trustees; 733.602 and 733.604 for PRs).  Additionally, being pro-active, let alone responsive, with respect to keeping everyone informed is probably the cheapest way to avoid getting sued by the beneficiaries, a point underscored in this newspaper article.  The following is an excerpt from the linked-to article:

Friday, August 18, 2006
By FRED CONTRADA
fcontrada@repub.com

AMHERST - When William J. Bernotas shot his estranged wife Jean Hosmer to death in front of the Northampton police station in 1999 and then turned the gun on himself, he left their two children orphans.

One of Hosmer's sisters came forward to take care of Sandra and Kevin Bernotas, but their estate was entrusted to Amherst lawyer Nancy J. Sardeson.

Now the family has questions about how the estate has been managed and Sardeson has been suspended from practicing law for failing to provide the answers.

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