[WSBAPT] Anyone interested in this referral?

[Jim Doran]

I do some work in Okanogan County if that becomes necessary.  I'm a T
wispite.
James R. Doran
Attorney at Law
100 E. Pine Street -  Suite 205
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360)393-9506
jim at doranlegal.com
www.doranlegal.com


On Thu, Jul 14, 2022 at 5:21 PM <steve at aitalaw.com> wrote:

> Here’s an interesting one. I will try to keep the fact summary brief…
>
>
>
> In August 2020, I prepared a Will for a client whose primary asset was
> some transferrable fishing rights (IFQs) that she had inherited from her
> father, worth approximately $350,000 at the time, and she was working with
> a broker in Tacoma to sell them. In her Will, she specifically disinherited
> her daughter (only child) and gave specific cash gifts to her sister and
> two charities, with the residue going in equal shares to her two teenaged
> grandchildren (in Trust for any grandchild under the age of 30). She named
> her brother as PR, with her sister being named as alternate PR. I was one
> of the witnesses to the Will, as was one of my then-officemates and another
> officemate notarized the Affidavit of Attesting Witnesses.
>
>
>
> Yesterday, the client’s daughter, who lives in Puyallup, called to tell me
> that the client died last week. I pulled the file and although I did not
> tell her the terms of the Will, I told her that I did not have her mother’s
> original Will, that her mother had taken it with her when she signed and I
> kept a copy in my file, as per our usual office procedures. I did tell her
> that her uncle, the client’s brother, was named as PR and if he wanted to
> hire me to represent him on the probate he was free to give me a call, but
> that he was also free to hire whoever he wants, but in any event he needs
> the original Will. Then she said, “Well, yeah, here’s the thing…”
> Apparently, in January 2022, the client had suffered some kind of psychotic
> episode and had been committed to the mental health hospital in Kirkland
> for a couple months. Seven days before entering the hospital, she had had a
> public breakdown, in front of her daughter, her sister, and other
> witnesses, and screamed that her sister had been stealing from her (she
> hadn’t), that she wasn’t going to give her sister any of her money, and
> ripped up the original Will on the spot.
>
>
>
> Today, I got a call from the client’s brother, the named PR who has
> recently retired and moved out to Riverside in Okanogan County, and he is
> at a loss as to what to do. Did she have capacity when she ripped up that
> Will? If not, he feels he has a duty to honor his sister’s wishes and try
> to admit a copy of the Will as a lost Will, and he doesn’t know how to go
> about doing that? If she did and the client therefore died intestate, the
> previously-disinherited daughter receives the entire estate and the
> charities, sister, and grandkids are out of luck. He wants to do what’s
> right and is torn between his deceased sister’s wishes (while she was clear
> headed) and his affection for his niece.
>
>
>
> In any event, I feel like I’m conflicted out on this one, since I
> represented the decedent regarding her estate plan and served as a witness
> to the Will and may therefore find myself a material witness if this
> devolves into a litigated matter. Plus, the daughter’s husband is a friend
> of a friend and I just feel like any further involvement by me or my firm
> would be inappropriate. This one seems fraught with issues. Anyone
> interested in talking with the brother? I will pass on any names and
> numbers, but he did say his preference is for a lawyer in Pierce County,
> since that’s where the decedent lived and where the daughter currently
> lives. Please reply off list.
>
>
>
> If you made it all the way through this email – thank you,
>
>
>
> Steve Aita
>
>
>
> ---------
>
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>
>
> P. Stephen Aita
>
> Attorney at Law
>
> Admitted in Washington & Idaho
>
>
>
> 3010 Harborview Dr., Suite 301
>
> Gig Harbor, WA  98335-1977
>
> Tel.: (253) 858-5434
>
> Fax: (253) 276-2373
>
>
>
> steve at aitalaw.com
>
> www.aitalaw.com
>
> www.facebook.com/aitalaw
>
>
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