Probate attorney disbarred for failing to work on probate

Posted on Mar 31, 2009

This news story from Florida about Peter Schmidt, a probate attorney, illustrates the pitfalls of choosing the wrong probate attorney.  Mr. Schmidt was disbarred for five years from the Florida bar for starting work on a probate case and then failing to diligently administer it.  The second reason for his disbarment was for taking $85,000 from the probate estate that was put in his client trust account.

Probate cases require regular oversight.  Failure to stay on top of the case often results in the case stalling and the beneficiaries getting angry at the executor for failing to get their inheritance to them.  Nominated executors would be wise to do some homework before hiring their probate lawyer.

Depositing funds from the probate estate into your lawyers trust account is never required in a California probate case.  A good California probate lawyer will instruct an executor how to correctly establish a bank account in the name of the probate estate.  This keeps the executor in control of the estate's money and prevents the sort of problem illustrated by this case.

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The Grossman Law Firm, A.P.C. are San Diego, California probate lawyers.  We help probate estates in San Diego County, California.  We appear in the San Diego probate court for probate cases that come San Diego County south of Escondido.  We appear in the North County San Diego/Vista probate court for probate cases that come from Escondido all the way north to Fallbrook, California.  If you  would like more information on probate and trust administration then order our free book The Insider's Guide to California Probate and Trust Administration as well as our free DVD Probate a Will or Administer a Trust After the Death of a Loved One.