Opinion ID: 2585254
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: DA7472 (Complaint of Charles Wall)

Text: 23. Erma B. Wall, a widow, died on January 23, 1998. Erma B. Wall had two children who survived her: Larry Wall [respondent] and Charles Wall. 24. Wall drafted his mother's will. Wall was the executor under his mother's will. 25. After their mother's death, Wall and his brother decided not to probate their mother's will because of the value of the estate. 26. Under the provisions of Mrs. Wall's will, Wall and his brother were to share equally in the estate. Additionally, a statement signed by Mrs. Wall and attached to her will provided for specific personal property bequests to the two brothers. 27. On January 23, 1998, three days subsequent to his mother's death, Wall opened a non-interest bearing checking account in his sole name and, using a power of attorney, transferred a $4,288.70 certificate of deposit owned by his mother, $1,846.32 from his mother's checking account, and $1,618.87 from his mother's savings account into the new account. In subsequent months, Wall also collected other monies coming from his mother's death and deposited those in that non-trust and non-interest bank account. 28. The bank account opened by Wall was not labeled as a trust account, but no other money was commingled with the money from his mother's estate. Some money in the account was used to pay Mrs. Wall's funeral expenses, to pay her outstanding debts, and to pay the costs of preparing Mrs. Wall's house for sale. Wall did not withdraw any money from that account for his personal use until all the remaining money in the account was divided between Wall and his brother. None of the money in the account was misused or misappropriated by Wall. 29. Wall caused a quitclaim deed dated January 4, 1998, to be filed with the Office of the Register of Deeds. The deed conveyed his mother's house and property to Wall and his brother. The deed was recorded 3 hours and 29 minutes after Mrs. Wall's death on January 23, 1998. Mrs. Wall did not sign the deed. Wall does not remember whether he signed the quitclaim deed for his mother, but Wall did have a durable power of attorney that permitted him to do so prior to her death. 30. Within a few months after Mrs. Wall's death, Wall and his brother each received his share of their mother's personal property and his share of the proceeds from the sale of their mother's house. Sometime during the period of June 1998, to July 2000, Charles Wall and his attorney made demands for Charles Wall's share of the money held by Wall in the segregated bank account. 31. On July 17, 2000, sixteen months after the death of Erma B. Wall and following questioning of Wall during an investigation of an ethical complaint made by Charles Wall, Wall distributed to Charles Wall his share of the money held in the checking account. The amount sent to Charles Wall was $1,749.80, which included a small amount of interest. The check was accompanied by a letter from Larry Toomey, who was representing Larry Wall, and a document prepared by Toomey that was an accounting of Mrs. Wall's property. 32. On July 26, 2000, Toomey again wrote to Charles Wall sending him an additional $666.99 representing 10 percent annual interest on his share of the remaining money from the bank account and a credit for a copying expense previously charged equally to Larry Wall and Charles Wall.