[WSBAPT] Opinion Letter for Small Estate

Thu Feb 6 10:41:19 PST 2014

Thanks to all who responded.  Especially Sam... although I may or may not
rely on your opinion :)

Jeff Winter

  _____  

From: sam at furgasons.com
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com
Subject: RE: [WSBAPT] Opinion Letter for Small Estate
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 10:06:08 -0800

What’s a “full” opinion letter? “Dear Counselor: In my opinion, Washington
law applies to this situation and you should send the royalty checks to
the heirs.” “Dear Client: My fee for the opinion letter is $100.” ;) 

What happens if your opinion is wrong? The estate (which has not been
opened – hence the affidavit) has a claim against you for up to $2,100
(assuming 3  year statute of limitations). How much would you charge to
assume that risk? So, tell the client you will charge accordingly. Offer a
resolution, and let the client make the cost/benefit analysis. You’re in a
small community, so if you have a workable solution, what outcome do you
want? A client who says, Jeff is not cheap, but he knows how to get things
done, or the expectation that you will work for less than full pay? 

What, actually, is your opinion? I have no idea whether intangible
personal property, which may or may not be deemed located in Washington,
New York, or wherever under NY law. Where did the royalty right arise
(under NY law)? Can the right be controlled from WA under WA law? 

I have run into the issue of transferring intangible personal property via
small estate affidavits previously: I used them to transfer shares of
stock, . I sent the stock certificates, the affidavit, and a copy of the
statute to the registrar/transfer agents, and, fortunately, that did the
trick in every case. 

So I have not run into the situation where a lawyer wants to transfer the
risk of loss onto my professional liability insurance carrier and me,
which is the case here. 

If you are not willing to take on the risk, is it any wonder that the NY
lawyer would be reluctant?

I don’t think you have to cost justify the letter; just decide what your
reasonable fee will be, and let the clients decide if it is worth the
cost. 

I once had a client who inherited a small piece of real property somewhere
back east. To that client the cost of the ancillary probate exceeded the
economic (and personal) value of the property. The client chose to do
nothing. Moral: it’s the client’s decision whether to proceed. 

My fee for this opinion is $2,100 if you choose to rely on it; otherwise,
see disclaimer below. J 

S

This message is offered as part of discussions on an attorneys' list
serve.  It may include inaccuracies, unresearched comments, and
speculation. This information does not constitute legal advice, but is
provided solely as extemporaneous remarks. You may not rely on it, but
should instead seek advice from a skilled practitioner before attempting
to apply the information to any actual fact situation. 

Sam Furgason

Samuel L. Furgason, Inc., P.S.

Estate Practice Limited to Existing Clients

Office Address:

800 Bellevue Way N.E., Suite 400

Bellevue, WA 98004

Mail to:

PO Box 102

Medina, WA 98039-0102

Cell: (425) 445-9909 (direct line)

Office: (425) 649-1122 (receptionist)

www.furgasons.com 

sam at furgasons.com 

From: wsbapt-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com
[mailto:wsbapt-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of jeffrey winter
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 8:57 AM
To: wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com
Subject: [WSBAPT] Opinion Letter for Small Estate

Listmates:

I am trying to transfer copyright royalties to a surviving spouse  via the
small estate affidavit.  New York counsel is in charge of distributing
royalty payments to heirs of the copyright holder.  I submitted the
Affidavit and Claim to him, along with the death certificate of the former
payee.  He was only somewhat familiar with the small estate proceedings,
so I also sent pertinent sections of the RCW to him for his review.

He is now requesting a full opinion letter to protect himself as
fiduciary.  The royalty payments amount to perhaps $700 a year.  It's hard
for me to justify the expense of an opinion letter to my client for that
kind of money.

Have any of you run into this before?

Thank you, in advance, for your thoughts.

Jeff Winter

Law Office of Jeffrey D. Winter, P.S.
604 North Main Street
Ellensburg, WA 98926
(509) 925-9600 

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Information provided on this list should not be considered legal advice.
As with all lists - let the reader beware! No warranties or
representations are made as to the accuracy of any information provided.
All opinions and comments in this message represent the views of the
author and do not necessarily have the endorsement of the Washington State
Bar Association nor its officers or agents. 

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with the following in the body of the message: unsubscribe wsbapt - OR -
send a message to webmaster at wsbarppt.com asking that you be removed from
the wsbapt list.

Information provided on this list should not be considered legal advice.
As with all lists - let the reader beware! No warranties or
representations are made as to the accuracy of any information provided.
All opinions and comments in this message represent the views of the
author and do not necessarily have the endorsement of the Washington State
Bar Association nor its officers or agents. 

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