| LEO Num | Topics | Summary | Date |
0595
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| A lawyer may not represent an estate in attempting to recover the proceeds of a note payable to the decedent (thus treating the note as an asset of the estate), while also representing the trustee in decedent's bankruptcy (treating the note as an asset of the bankrupt estate). | 8/10/1984 |
0340
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| A lawyer representing an estate may purchase an estate asset if all interested parties consent. [Under Rule 1.8(a), a lawyer may not enter into a "business transaction" with a client unless the client is given an opportunity to seek independent advice, and there has been full disclosure and consent in writing.] | 11/2/1979 |
1599
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| A lawyer representing an executor and one of two beneficiaries: does not have a conflict unless the lawyer also represents the other beneficiary; must advise the client that communications with the client as beneficiary may not be entitled to attorney-client privilege protection, because communications with the client as fiduciary may similarly not be protected from disclosure to the beneficiaries; has "no attorney-client relationship with the beneficiaries of the estate other than the executor;" has no "derivative duty" to the other beneficiary by virtue of the client's fiduciary duty (as executor) to the other beneficiary, although the lawyer must "be alert to indications that [the other beneficiary] does not understand the attorney's role;" may not advise or represent the executor in actions that breach the executor's fiduciary duty; does "not take on the executor's duties to the beneficiaries simply by performing the executor's administrative tasks;" may not charge for any services rendered to the client in the client's capacity as a beneficiary. | 8/12/1994 |
1452
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| A lawyer retained by a personal representative of an estate has an attorney-client relationship with the executor or other personal representative and not the beneficiaries. | 3/13/1992 |
1811
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| A lawyer who previously represented a co-executor of an estate must follow the former client's directions and refuse to provide documents to the other co-executor's lawyer, despite an agreement among the co-executors that they would share financial information; although lawyers may disclose client confidences to comply with a "law or a court order," the co-executors contract is not "law"; any dispute about the contract should be handled by the lawyer currently representing the co-executor. | 4/25/2005 |
0648
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| A lawyer who previously represented an estate in a wrongful death case that has been settled may now represent another client against a third party who contributed to the decedent's death. Although the matters are substantially related, the estate and the prospective new client are not adverse to one another, and both have consented. | 1/9/1985 |
0260
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| It is not improper for a lawyer representing an executor-beneficiary to fail to advise another beneficiary whose interests "potentially" conflict with those of the executor-beneficiary to hire another lawyer, but the executor has a fiduciary duty to advise the other beneficiary to hire another lawyer. | 5/16/1975 |
ABA-426
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| Lawyers may act as personal representatives or trustees under documents the lawyer prepares, but: must obtain a written consent if the lawyer's judgment would be significantly impaired; must advise the client about how the lawyer's compensation will be calculated and whether it is subject to some limits or court approval. Lawyers may also hire their own firms to perform legal work in the administration of the trust or estate, in which case the lawyers generally represent themselves, and not the beneficiaries or the trust or estate as an entity. Even with consent, a lawyer serving as a fiduciary may not take positions adverse to the interests of a beneficiary or the entity. Lawyers acting as fiduciaries generally should not represent beneficiaries in unrelated matters. | 5/31/2002 |
1472
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| The lawyer for a divorced wife may not represent the estate of the former husband. | 8/24/1992 |
1473
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| Three co-executors each hired their own lawyer and a fourth lawyer to represent the estate. The fourth lawyer had an attorney-client relationship with all three executors. The executors later became trustees, and began to quarrel. The fourth lawyer may not continue to represent two of the executor/ trustees unless the third one consented. | 9/1/1992 |