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October 30, 2006
Attorney Reprimanded for Representing Husband and Wife
Despite repeated warnings of the risks associated with representing both spouses in preparing an estate plan, many attorneys continue the practice.
Recently, a Texas lawyer was given a public reprimand for such conduct. Here is a summary of what happened:
[A] member of [the attorney's] law firm prepared estate planning documents for a husband and wife, including reciprocal wills. The husband had been represented by [his] law firm for other legal matters as well.
On April 12, 2002, [the attorney] drafted a new will for the wife naming the wife’s mother as the sole beneficiary of her estate.
[The Attorney] failed to obtain the prior consent of the former client husband before presenting the wife and drafting a new will.
See Disciplinary Actions, Tex. B.J. 902, 904 (2006).
October 30, 2006 in Professional Responsibility | Permalink
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» Representing Spouses in Estate Planning from Death and Taxes - The Blog
Last year I talked briefly (here) about ethical conflicts in representing a husband and wife. I was reminded of this post by something Professor Beyer wrote about at his blog yesterday, here. Professor Beyer's post discusses an attorney who represented [Read More]
Tracked on Nov 1, 2006 7:32:01 AM
