One of the most confoundingly difficult challenges we all face as trusts and estates attorneys is what to do if a client’s cognitively declining or otherwise impaired in a way that is clearly affecting his or her decision making. The …
What’s it take to haul an Illinois estate planner into a Florida courtroom for malpractice?
Florida remains the largest recipient of state-to-state migration in the US, and the top choice among retirees.
Not surprisingly, many of these transplants are slow to abandon the professional relationships they’ve fostered back home — often for …
Will a guardianship judge’s orders approving your client’s actions shield you from third-party malpractice liability?
Bivins v. Rogers, 2017 WL 5526874 (S.D. Fla., June 01, 2017)
The general trend in Florida is that a third-party beneficiary of your legal services can sue you for malpractice — and it doesn’t matter that the third party …
Can someone other than your client sue you for drafting an invalid quitclaim deed?
Dingle v. Dellinger, 134 So.3d 484 (Fla. 5th DCA February 7, 2014)
There’s nothing like the threat of a malpractice suit to focus the mind. And in the trusts-and-estates context this risk is exponentially greater for all sorts …
What’s it take for a prospective client to conflict you out of an inheritance case?
Lopez v. Flores, — So.3d —-, 2017 WL 1018492 (Fla. 3d DCA March 15, 2017)
Our ethics rules evolved in the civil litigation context, which means the rules assume a lawyer has only one client involved in a particular …
In a Will contest, will a decedent’s confidential communications with her estate planning attorney remain confidential?
Vasallo v. Bean, — So.3d —-, 2016 WL 6249157 (Fla. 3d DCA October 26, 2016)
The promise of confidentiality is at the heart of the lawyer-client relationship. Confidentiality is so important, it’s guaranteed under both our ethics rules (…
Does the common-law “fiduciary exception” to the attorney-client privilege still matter in Florida?
We all know that when attorneys represent fiduciaries of any kind (be it guardians, personal representatives or trustees) much of the work we do is intended to benefit not just our clients, but the third parties they’re charged with serving …
Can a ward sue the attorney for his former court-appointed guardian for malpractice?
Saadeh v. Connors, — So.3d —-, 2015 WL 3875682 (Fla. 4th DCA June 24, 2015)
The general trend in Florida (especially in the trusts and estates context) is that a third-party beneficiary of your legal services can …
Can winning a “defalcation” ruling in a bankruptcy proceeding against your former probate lawyer end up immunizing his insurance carrier from liability?
Complex estate litigation usually doesn’t get resolved in a single winner-take-all trial. These cases usually get played out in multiple “mini” trials (sometimes before the same judge, sometimes not) turning on an evolving set of contingencies that no one could …
11th Cir: Does a trustee’s lawyer owe fiduciary duties to the trust’s beneficiaries?
Bain v. Mcintosh, — Fed.Appx. —-, 2015 WL 859481 (11th Cir. March 02, 2015)
The nature and extent of the fiduciary duties — if any — owed by the lawyer for a trustee or personal representative to the …