Opinion ID: 1295161
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: counts 1 through 6client k.m.

Text: ¶ 5. K.M. retained Kasprowicz on December 14, 1998, to help in the probate of her mother's estate. Kasprowicz and K.M. agreed that his fee would be based on a percentage of the estate. ¶ 6. On January 8, 1999, Kasprowicz filed an application for informal probate and K.M. was appointed personal representative. Subsequently, on July 13, 1999, the register in probate filed a Notice of Overdue Inventory because the inventory of the estate had not been filed within six months of the appointment of the personal representative as required by Wis. Stat. § 858.01. [3] ¶ 7. On August 4, 1999, Kasprowicz filed the inventory listing property valued at $417,835.22 as subject to administration. The inventory, however, improperly included an IRA and life insurance policy that were held by the decedent's living trust, a document Kasprowicz had drafted for the decedent in 1992. The beneficiary form on the decedent's IRA designated her trust, not her estate, as beneficiary. ¶ 8. The inventory also incorrectly listed the decedent as having a one-half ownership in real estate in Monroe county, when in fact, she had only a one-quarter ownership in that property. ¶ 9. The value of the property Kasprowicz had erroneously included in the decedent's estate exceeded $275,000. ¶ 10. After the inventory, Kasprowicz filed no additional documents in the estate and failed to close the estate within 18 months. When orders to show cause were subsequently issued in October 2000 regarding his failure to close the estate, Kasprowicz appeared and asked that the file be transferred to another attorney, Attorney George Love. Kasprowicz stated at the order to show cause hearing that he would pay all of Attorney Love's fees incurred in closing the estate. ¶ 11. That order to show cause hearing had been requested by K.M. because Kasprowicz had been unresponsive to her questions about settling the estate. Kasprowicz had moved his office without informing K.M. of the new location and her numerous attempts to discuss the status of her mother's estate with Kasprowicz had been unsuccessful. Ultimately, Kasprowicz left a voicemail message for K.M. stating that he was taking a leave of absence from his law practice. ¶ 12. After taking over the estate as successor counsel, Attorney Love asked Kasprowicz several times to turn over his file on the estate; Kasprowicz finally did so over four months later. ¶ 13. During the time he handled the estate, Kasprowicz failed to file a fiduciary income tax return for the estate and the trust. That failure resulted in the assessment of $4100 in interest and penalties. ¶ 14. After K.M. filed a grievance with the OLR about Kasprowicz' conduct, the OLR began its investigation; Kasprowicz, however, failed to timely respond to the OLR's investigative efforts. ¶ 15. Ultimately, however, Kasprowicz paid over $11,000 which included all of Attorney Love's fees, a return to the client of one-half of Kasprowicz' fees, and all of the penalties and interest imposed by the IRS as the result of the late filing of the estate's tax returns. ¶ 16. This course of conduct, as alleged in the OLR complaint and which the referee found had been proven by clear and convincing evidence, led to the following six counts of misconduct against Kasprowicz:  Count 1. By improperly including an IRA and life insurance policy in the estate's inventory, Kasprowicz failed to represent a client with the legal knowledge, skills, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for, the representation, in violation of SCR 20:1.1. [4]  Count 2. By failing to file the estate's inventory within six months as required by Wis. Stat. § 858.01, by failing to close the estate within 18 months, as required by Wis. Stat. § 863.35, without filing a request for an extension of time to close the estate, and by failing to file fiduciary income tax returns for the estate and trust, which resulted in approximately $4100 in interest and penalties, Kasprowicz failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client, in violation of SCR 20:1.3. [5]  Count 3. By failing to respond to K.M.'s attempts to contact him regarding the status of the estate, Kasprowicz failed to promptly comply with a client's numerous requests for information, in violation of SCR 20:1.4(a). [6]  Count 4. By failing to turn K.M.'s file over to her new counsel for approximately four and one-half months after a request was made for the file, Kasprowicz failed to take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client's interest, in violation of SCR 20:1.16(d). [7]  Count 5. By charging K.M. a percentage of the estate's value for his representation in the matter, Kasprowicz violated a statute [Wis. Stat. § 851.40(2)(e)] and supreme court decision [ In re Disciplinary Proceedings Against Sylvan, 202 Wis. 2d 123, 549 N.W.2d 249 (1996)] regulating the conduct of lawyers, in violation of SCR 20:8.4(f). [8]  Count 6. By failing to timely respond to OLR staff's investigative letters and by failing to provide relevant information during the course of an investigation, Kasprowicz failed to timely disclose all facts and circumstances pertaining to the grievance and failed to timely answer questions or furnish documents, in violation of SCR 22.03(2), [9] constituting misconduct, pursuant to SCR 20:8.4(f).