What probate litigation lawyers Florida need to know about attorney client privilege: December 9th, 2015 4th DCA

In will contests Florida, many dis-inherited beneficiaries want to get  information about the maker of the will or the revocable trust.  Like, how did I get dis-inherited from the Palm Beach probate or trust that is in Boca Raton?  Beneficiaries and those who object to probate or file a will challenge need their probate litigator Florida to conduct extensive discovery. Often, this can include documents or things in a probate law firm’s files, email communications, or the files and notes and emails of an estate lawyer Palm Beach.  But, often, attorneys assert a privilege, the Florida attorney client privilege.  Do you know how to claim the attorney client privilege if someone is trying to get specifics about your communications with your Florida trust lawyer, emails, or if they are trying to get your probate litigation law firm’s notes and files?  Also, in the Palm Beach probate context, do you know the way around the attorney client privilege to learn of the maker of the trust’s, or the maker of will’s, real intent?  The exception to the attorney client privilege is very important.  Consider reading a non probate case which just came out of the West Palm Beach appeals court, the 4th DCA  yesterday, Las Olas River House Condo. Assoc.  v. Lorh LLC, a December 9, 2015 case: http://4dca.org/opinions/Dec.%202015/12-09-15/4D15-2289.op.pdf

What do I need to know about the Florida attorney client privilege in a Palm Beach probate?

• Here are some basic hints or tips or data about the attorney client privilege which every heir, family member or beneficiary, and Florida trust lawyer should know about
• One, you MUST assert the privilege at first chance.  So, if you are the personal representative of a Jupiter estate, talk to your probate litigator Florida before coughing up documents
• DON’T give up some or part of the documents which can be covered by the privilege because that might make ALL documents subject to disclosure and discovery.  If you are a beneficiary of a revocable trust and you want to show someone what you wrote to your lawyer about the other estate lawyer Delray Beach, or what you think about the trust amendment, be very, very careful
• If you give up documents which could be covered by the privilege, that is a WAIVER of the attorney client privilege and it may be a partial one or a complete one.  Don’t assume it’s partial.
• File a privilege log identifying what documents you claim are protected by the a/c privilege and then have a set ready for an in camera inspection by the probate court in Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach or Delray Beach

How do I get to See the Executor’s Emails with Her Probate Lawyer Florida?

• Generally, the estate lawyer for the executor or the personal representative represents that personal representative Florida, and not the “estate” or any beneficiaries, although much, if not all, work is done for the estate and for the benefit of the beneficiaries
• BUT, the lawyer for the deceased Florida resident who created the will, or who wrote the living trust Boynton Beach, may be discoverable
• If you are a trustee or executor, or a fiduciary, note the fiduciary lawyer privilege or thefiduciary client privilege found in the evidence code which trust lawyers Boca Raton should know about:  http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0090/Sections/0090.5021.html
• Also, you can read about the attorney client privilege at this Florida law or statute and note paragraph (4) (b) and the exception for probate law firms Florida and people involved in inheritance lawsuits: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0000-0099/0090/Sections/0090.5021.html

What do business Lawyers & Commercial Litigators Florida Need to Know about the Attorney Client Privilege?

• In this recent 4th DCA case, the appeals court Palm Beach discussed whether a communication between a lawyer and a client was ‘confidential‘ and whether it wasintended to be distributed to a third party
• How does the Florida attorney client privilege apply to corporations or limited liability companies and their employees and agents?
• The privilege applies to any communication which is made not just directly to a client or an attorney, but also to agents, such as an interpreter, messenger or any other agent of transmission
• So, if you are a client, the court is saying that communications with your agent and the lawyer are protected from third parties reading them
• The Deason case sets forth a 5 part test to determine if a Florida corporation’s communications are attorney client privileged
• So, if you own a Florida LLC or limited liability company or are a doctor in a medical group, practice or partnership, or if you are a commercial litigation law firm Florida, consider reading this case and also Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Deason, 632 So. 2d 1377 (Florida 1994)