Opinion ID: 2423620
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: alleged violationsessential facts.

Text: In 2001, Mr. Coppola represented a Virginia couple named Jeanne and Richard Swink in preparing a typical estate plan. At that time, Ms. Swink mentioned that her mother, Elizabeth L. West, was getting older and lacked an adequate estate plan. Mr. Coppola invited Ms. Swink to have her mother get in touch with him, but Ms. West did not do so at that time. Mr. Coppola stayed in touch with Ms. Swink over the years. In approximately December 2007, Ms. Swink mentioned to Mr. Coppola's ex-wife that Ms. West needed an estate plan. Ms. West, however, did not contact Mr. Coppola at that time. In or about June 2008, Ms. Swink again contacted Mr. Coppola about an estate plan for Ms. West. On this occasion, Ms. Swink indicated that her mother was ill. Mr. Coppola recalls that he spoke by phone with Ms. West on this occasion. The Respondent testified that the conversation lasted approximately fifteen minutes and that Ms. Swink was also involved in the conference. This conversation appears to be the only one that Respondent had with Ms. West concerning her estate plan. He learned that Ms. West had an existing Will, drafted in 1995, that left all her assets in equal shares to her four adult children. Mr. Coppola subsequently obtained a copy of the 1995 Will, which was introduced into evidence in this case. Mr. Coppola also learned that Ms. West had one significant probatable asset, a house in Prince George's County, Maryland, and that Ms. West wanted to leave her estate to her four children in equal shares, with a minimum of fees and expenses. Mr. Coppola recommended that Ms. West enter into an estate plan that would include a new Will, a trust declaration, an assignment of property to the trust, and a deed transferring the house to the trust. Under Mr. Coppola's plan, a revocable Living Trust would be created during Ms. West's lifetime. Ms. West would be named as trustee and would have full control of trust assets during her lifetime. The Deed would transfer ownership of the house to the Living Trust, and the Assignment would pass untitled personal property to the Trust. Upon Ms. West's death, the Living Trust automatically would be converted to an irrevocable Family Trust, whose assets would be distributed to each child in equal shares. The principal purposes of this estate plan were to ensure that Ms. West's major asset did not become part of her probatable estate with the goals of (1) avoiding the fees and expenses chargeable in probate proceedings; (2) allowing the trustee to sell the house readily and without delay or complications of probate; and (3) accomplishing the same distribution as would be carried out in formal probate. Mr. Coppola also explained to Ms. West that he would prepare a general durable power of attorney and related medical powers of attorney as part of a normal estate plan for a person in her circumstances. She did not formally ask him to prepare the documents at that time. Ms. West, herself, did not follow up ever again with Mr. Coppola. The hearing judge then described what happened on August 25, 2008, when Ms. Swink asked Coppola to meet with her family at a hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, where Ms. West was a patient: On or about August 25, 2008, Mr. Coppola received another phone call from Ms. Swink. Ms. Swink said that Ms. West was in a hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. Ms. Swink informed him that Ms. West wanted to go forward with the estate plan they had previously discussed. At this time, however, Mr. Coppola had no direct conversation with Ms. West. Based on the phone call from Ms. Swink, on or about August 25-26, 2008, Mr. Coppola prepared the documents he had previously described to Ms. West using templates available in his practice. Those documents include the 2008 Will; the Elizabeth L. West Trust Declaration; a Deed transferring the Prince George's house to the Trust; an Assignment transferring personal property to the Trust; and a General Durable Power of Attorney. Mr. Coppola also prepared other medical estate-planning documents, but because of the events described below, these documents were not signed. The Court finds that the estate plan designed by Mr. Coppola was reasonable and appropriate for a person in Ms. West's circumstances. The Court also finds that $2548 (a fee of $2500 and $48 in expenses), the amount Mr. Coppola charged for these services, was a reasonable fee for preparing and implementing the estate plan. For these findings, the Court relies in part on the testimony of A. MacDonough Plant, Esq., who testified as an expert on estates and lawyers in Maryland. He reviewed the estate plan documents and charges and testified that they were appropriate for an elderly woman who was terminally ill, whose estate was dominated by a house worth approximately $250,000, and who wanted to bequeath her assets to her children in equal shares. Petitioner did not present any contrary evidence. But Respondent's expert testified that, in his opinion, the Respondent was not entitled to a fee given the circumstances surrounding the execution of the documents. In accordance with Ms. Swink's instructions, Mr. Coppola took copies of the estate planning documents to the hospital in Fairfax, Virginia, on August 26, 2008, where he understood Ms. West was a patient. Mr. Coppola expected to review the documents with Ms. West at the hospital, and to have her execute them after review and consultation. When Mr. Coppola arrived at the hospital, he found all four of Ms. West's children (along with Richard Swink) present in Ms. West's hospital room. Mr. Coppola learned that Ms. West had taken a sharp turn for the worse, although the date of her losing competency was not established. She was either unconscious or semi-conscious, but undisputedly was in no condition to review or execute the estate-planning documents. Ms. West was in the end stages of a battle with colon cancer and it appeared unlikely that she would return to consciousness. The family was manifestly distraught at their mother's condition and several of the children were openly crying. Mr. Coppola explained to the children why he was there and what the documents he had drafted were intended to do. (Ms. Swink, of course, already knew why Mr. Coppola was there.) He explained the purpose of the estate-planning documents as set forth above, including the fact that the plan might save the estate approximately $10,000 in probate fees and expenses, primarily attorney's fees, by placing the house into a trust. He also explained how the trust worked and why it would not affect the children's inheritances except to increase the size of the distribution to the trust beneficiaries (i.e., the four children) compared to a probated estate that would have paid attorneys fees and expenses before distribution to the four children. Mr. Coppola had drafted the trust declaration to name Ms. Swink as the successor trustee, but the children requested that all four of them serve as the successor trustee, and Mr. Coppola agreed to make this change later, after signing of the documents. The trust was drafted, however, to ensure that each of the children would be the sole trustee of his or her share upon reaching age 25 and because all the children were already over age 25, each child would maintain control over his or her share. Mr. Coppola estimated $10,000 in savings based on an estimated value of $250,000 for Ms. West's house. Those savings roughly comport with the allowable statutory compensation for personal representatives and special administrators set forth in § 7-601 of the Estates and Trusts Article of the Maryland Code. The Court finds that even though the Personal Representative could have waived this fee, Mr. Coppola's savings estimate was reasonable because a fee of roughly the same amount likely would have been charged by counsel for the personal representative and counsel's agents, such as an accounting firm. The Court finds that Mr. Coppola reasonably believes that the personal representative of Ms. West's estate would have needed to hire an attorney if the 1995 Will were admitted to probate. Ms. Swink, the personal representative under the 1995 Will, was a Virginia resident, and the probate proceedings would have been in Prince George's County, Maryland. In addition, because Ms. West's house would have been part of the probatable estate under the 1995 Will, the probate proceedings would have been sufficiently complex to require the assistance of counsel. The Court relies in part on the testimony of Mr. Plant for this finding. Mr. Coppola's testimony that the August 2008 documents reflected Ms. West's intent is bolstered by comparing the relevant provisions of the 1995 Will and the 2008 Will and Trust Declaration. Under both the 1995 Will and the 2008 estate plan, Ms. West's assets would be shared in equal proportion by her four adult children. Nothing in the 2008 estate plan modifies the share any beneficiary would have received under the 1995 Will. No evidence was presented suggesting that Mr. Coppola's proposed estate plan did not reflect Ms. West's intent, and whether Mr. Coppola engaged in best practices to determine Ms. West's intent is not at issue in this proceeding. There is no evidence as to whether this remained Ms. West's intent in August 2008. After learning that Ms. West was not capable of executing the documents, Coppola was approached by Ms. West's four children regarding the possibility of Ms. Swink forging Ms. West's signature on the documents, which Coppola facilitated: Mr. Coppola testified that Ms. West's children asked whether they could sign the estate-planning documents on Ms. West's behalf as they recognized the cost savings to be gained if the documents could be utilized. Mr. Coppola told them that they could not legally do so. He explained that some of the documents needed to be witnessed and certified. Notwithstanding these explanations, the children pleaded with Mr. Coppola to certify Ms. Swink's execution of the documents in her mother's name. He explained that if the children were not in agreement with the provisions of the estate plan, then it would be counterproductive to sign Ms. West's name to the documents. He told the children that such a course would be improper and, if anyone of the children objected, the documents would not be honored. The children indicated to Mr. Coppola that they were, in fact, in agreement. Mr. Coppola, to his regret, agreed to have them sign the documents and that he would certify that they were signed by Ms. West. Ms. Swink then signed her mother's name to the 2008 Will, the Trust Declaration, the Deed, the Assignment, and the General Durable Power of Attorney. All four children were present in the hospital room and witnessed Ms. Swink's execution of her mother's name on the documents. Mr. Coppola hand-wrote the change to the Trust Declaration (naming all four children as successor Trustees) and Ms. Swink initialed the change. The hearing judge noted that, after Ms. Swink forged Ms. West's signature on the estate planning documents, Coppola returned to his office, changed the identity of the successor trustee in the Trust Declaration from Ms. Swink alone to all four children acting together and proceeded to notarize the falsely-executed Will, the Trust Declaration and Schedule, the Power of Attorney naming Ms. Swink as Ms. West's attorney-in-fact, and the Deed transferring the property from Ms. West to the Elizabeth L. West Living Trust. He thereafter directed two of his employees to falsely attest that they witnessed Ms. West's Will, despite the fact that Ms. West's signature was not on the Will and neither employee was present to see Ms. West execute her Will, and notarized their attestations despite knowing that they were false. Mr. Coppola then returned to his office in Leesburg with the documents. There, consistent with the instructions he received from the children, he changed the identity of the successor trustee in the trust declaration from Ms. Swink alone to all of the children acting unanimously. The Respondent notarized the falsely executed and initialed Will; he notarized the falsely executed trust declaration and schedule; he notarized the falsely executed power of attorney naming Ms. Swink as Ms. West's attorney-in-fact and he notarized the falsely executed deed transferring the property from Ms. West to the Elizabeth L. West Living Trust. Respondent's ex-wife, Patricia Coppola and his mother, Katherine Coppola, both worked in the Respondent's law office on August 26, 2008. The Respondent admitted that, at his direction, he had each of them execute Ms. West's Will as witnesses despite the fact that Ms. West was not present and despite the fact that her signature was not on the Will. His notarization of the Will included the false recital that stated, in effect, that Ms. West and the witnesses, Katherine and Patricia Coppola, appeared in each other's presence and in the Respondent's presence and that Ms. West declared that the instrument was her Last Will and Testament, that it was willingly executed in the presence of the witnesses, that the witnesses stated that they, in the presence of Ms. West, and at her request, subscribed their names as witnesses. The witnesses falsely swore to their attestation and the Respondent notarized it knowing that those oaths were false. Mr. Coppola certified or notarized the signatures by Ms. Swink on the Will, Trust, Deed, and Durable Power of Attorney. The hearing judge then described that, after amending the Trust, notarizing the falsely-executed Will, Trust Declaration and Schedule, Power of Attorney, and Deed, and directing his employees to falsely attest regarding Ms. West's Will, Coppola returned to the hospital the next day and gave the original documents to Ms. Swink; he then certified that the Deed was prepared by him or under his supervision and directed his employee to record the falsely-executed Deed in the land records of Prince George's County: The next day, August 27, 2008, Mr. Coppola personally returned the original documents to the hospital room and gave them to Ms. Swink. Respondent certified that the deed was prepared by him or under his supervision, and he notarized the false signature of Ms. West. When he returned to his office, he sent his clerk to record the deed with the Prince George's County land records office. Although the Respondent's employee had some initial difficulty in finding the courthouse, the Clerk of the Circuit Court for Prince George's County recorded the deed on August 28, 2008, after Ms. Swink paid outstanding property taxes. He also had an employee of his office record the Deed in the land records for Prince George's County, Maryland. Ms. West died on August 30, 2008, without having recovered. Mr. Coppola testified that he was affected by the entreaties of the children and that the situation was extremely emotional. The emotional character of the hospital room, he claimed, carried over to his office where he amended the Trust, had his ex-wife and mother perjure themselves, and directed his clerk to file a deed he knew was falsely signed and notarized. Despite the emotional character of the situation, the Respondent suffered no cognitive deficits and knew what he was doing and that it was wrong. The Respondent never told Ms. Swink, whom he testified was also his client, of the criminal implications of the course of action of which he agreed to be a part. When asked at trial about the nature of the criminal implications, he replied, I guess fraud. Finally, the hearing judge described how Bar Counsel became aware of Coppola's actions: