Opinion ID: 1824918
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The V.G. Incident

Text: V.G. retained the services of Schramek through the Clinic to prepare a living trust. Schramek, as part of those services, also prepared a pour-over will, a power of attorney, and a quitclaim deed to convey V.G.'s condominium to the trust. None of these forms were approved forms contained in either the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure or this Court's Approved Simplified Forms. Some time after Schramek drafted the living trust and prepared the deed, V.G. became incompetent and was placed in a convalescent home. Subsequently, the condominium was put up for sale and a buyer was found. A title company then discovered that the deed had been incorrectly prepared, and the condominium could not be conveyed until a corrective deed was issued. Because V.G. was by that time incompetent and could not execute a corrective deed, the title to the property could not be insured and the buyers purchased other property. Additionally, the trust had been drafted so that three individuals would serve jointly as successor trustees to V.G. The trust stated that the actions of one trustee were binding on the other two. Consequently, one trustee was able to transfer substantial trust assets to himself. Moreover, no provision was made as to what would happen in the event a co-trustee died, was disqualified, or resigned. Thus, when two of the successor trustees died, it was left to a court to interpret V.G.'s intent. The referee found that Schramek had given incorrect legal advice to V.G. regarding the living trust and that this incorrect advice resulted in substantial harm to V.G. and her estate.