Regarding attorney conflict of interest. If an attorney represented me in opening an estate for my deceased mother during a wrongful death lawsuit, can she now represent my sister as trustee of my Dad’s trust against me?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Regarding attorney conflict of interest. If an attorney represented me in opening an estate for my deceased mother during a wrongful death lawsuit, can she now represent my sister as trustee of my Dad’s trust against me?
I hired an attorney to open and maintain my deceased mother’s estate during a wrongful death lawsuit in 2012, and the same attorney wrote the trust document for my dad, who is now deceased, and appointed my oldest sister as Trustee. Can this same attorney represent my sister, as trustee, against my claims, as a beneficiary? She is not upholding her part in giving us status updates on the sale of property, account balances, etc. So I have to hire my own attorney to fight this. This seems like it would be a conflict of interest. Thank you.
Asked on December 7, 2017 under Estate Planning, Florida
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
While it is best to fly inder the radar with these type of situations, it does not appear from the information that you have given that the attorney has a conflict of interest here. If, however, the attorney is privy to information that came as a direct result of your wrongful death action and used that information in the suit against youm the attorney would have many, many problems. Hiring your own lawyer is a good idea. Step back and let him or her do the talking for you. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.