Considerations of Professional Responsibility in Probate Matters

The legal profession, contrary to the belief of some skeptics, is generally quite concerned with the rigorous observation of ethical standards. All too often, however, the ethical standard becomes hidden in a maze of technical legal problems. Probate, probably more than any other area of practice, abounds in ethical pitfalls. Since such a large portion of probate is thought of as nonadversarial, conflicts of interest often pass unnoticed. Recognizing this recurrence of ethical problems, this comment is both a presentation of some of the more salient problems of professional responsibility arising in probate matters and a critical analysis of the rules and practices pertinent to these problems. Specifically, the following situations are considered: (1) the drafting attorney named as executor or as counsel to the executor; (2) the drafting attorney as witness and counsel in the probate contest; and (3) the drafting attorney as beneficiary under the will