The attorney then met with a judge and requested an ex parte order appointing the client as special administrator for his grandmother's estate. The petition for Formal Appointment of Executor, which the attorney prepared, said that the petitioner was unaware of any later will. The attorney did not advise the judge that he was aware of the possible existence of another will. After the meeting with the judge, the attorney contacted the law firm that drafted the July 1999 will, and learned that it had been revoked by a subsequent will. These are just a few examples of admonitions issued in 2000.
Small matters have a way of becoming large problems.
If you think you may be facing an ethical dilemma, you probably are being confronted by such a problem. Err on the side of caution and call the OLPR before acting. An advisory opinion attorney is available at the office during business hours to give advisory opinions to attorneys who call with questions about their own prospective conduct. The author would like to thank Candice Hojan of the OLPR for her assistance in preparing this article.