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Sandra L. Davis (WSBA No. 12618, admitted 1982), of Lynnwood, was suspended for 18 months, effective February 23, 2005, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following a stipulation approved by the Disciplinary Board. This discipline was based on her conduct involving preparation of a will giving a substantial gift to her mother, delay in distribution of assets of an estate, and misrepresentation of estate assets.
In July 2002, an individual with whom Ms. Davis’s mother had lived for eight years was hospitalized. During his hospitalization, Ms. Davis prepared a will for him. The will provided that Ms. Davis’s mother would receive a testamentary gift of $10,000, in addition to a car and other personal property. The will further provided that the residue of the estate would be distributed among the testator’s children. Ms. Davis did not advise him to consult with another lawyer about the will.
Shortly after the testator’s death in August 2002, Ms. Davis wrote to his children to inform them that he had left a will, that she was the executor, and that she would provide them with a copy of the will and contact them about settling the estate. But she did not promptly do so; instead, Ms. Davis decided to deliberately delay the distribution of estate assets. Between December 2002 and June 2003, Ms. Davis misrepresented her intentions regarding settlement of the estate and failed to provide the beneficiaries with an inventory of estate assets. In July 2003, after the children-beneficiaries filed a grievance against Ms. Davis with the Bar Association, Ms. Davis prepared and provided the beneficiaries with an inventory.
At the time of his death, the testator had money in two bank accounts; with respect to each account, his daughter was a joint tenant with a right of survivorship. Hence, as of the date of his death, each account was the property of the daughter and not an asset of the estate. In a July 2003 letter sent to the beneficiaries, and in the inventory of estate assets that accompanied it, Ms. Davis stated that the two bank accounts were estate assets subject to distribution under the will. Included with the letter were affidavits prepared by Ms. Davis to effect the distribution of the bank accounts. The affidavit prepared for Ms. Davis’s mother stated that her mother was claiming $10,000 from one of the bank accounts. The affidavits represented that the two bank accounts were subject to probate. At the time she mailed the affidavits, Ms. Davis knew that the two bank accounts were not estate assets and were not subject to probate. Ms. Davis never informed the daughter that the accounts were the daughter’s property and not subject to distribution under the will.
Ms. Davis’s conduct violated RPC 1.3, requiring a lawyer to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client; RPC 1.8(c), prohibiting a lawyer from preparing an instrument giving the lawyer or a person related to the lawyer as parent, child, sibling, or spouse any substantial gift from a client, including a testamentary gift; RPC 4.1, prohibiting a lawyer, in the course of representing a client, from knowingly making a false statement of material fact or law to a third person; and RPC 8.4(c), prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
Scott G. Busby represented the Bar Association. Patrick C. Sheldon represented Ms. Davis. |