The Superior Court has followed the plurality opinion in In re Estate of McAleer, 248 A.3d 416 (Pa. 2021), and held that the “fiduciary exception” to the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine is not contrary to the law … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Attorney-client privilege
In a dispute over legal fees paid by a trustee, the Orphans’ Court had ordered the trustee to turn over to the beneficiaries unredacted invoices for legal fees paid, and an evenly divided Supreme Court has affirmed the order. In … Continue reading
The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal from an order directing a trustee to provide the beneficiaries with unredacted copies of lawyer fee invoices that the trustee paid from trust funds. Both the Orphans’ Court and the Superior Court had … Continue reading
The wife of the decedent and executor of his estate, who had asserted attorney-client privilege during discovery, could not then waive the privilege at trial unless the opposing litigants could first conduct discovery regarding the communications for which the privilege … Continue reading
The beneficiary of a putative will has standing to request a waiver of attorney-client privilege in a dispute over the validity of the will due to lack of testamentary capacity, allegations of fraud in the execution of a note by … Continue reading
In a dispute over legal fees paid by a trustee, the Orphans’ Court ordered the trustee to turn over to the beneficiaries unredacted invoices for legal fees paid and, on appeal, the Superior Court held that the order was not … Continue reading
In-house legal opinions relating to the exercise of trustee discretion were not protected by attorney-client privilege and are subject to discovery by beneficiaries seeking to remove the trustee. Warriner Trusts, 6 Fid.Rep.3rd 223 (O.C. Susquehanna Co. 5/4/2016). … Continue reading
Any “testamentary exception” to attorney-client privilege under Pennsylvania law does not apply to a subpoena to the decedent’s attorney in a defense to a challenge to life insurance beneficiary designations alleged to be the result of undue influence. Collautt v. … Continue reading
The beneficiaries of an estate, having filed objections to the executor’s account, petitioned for discovery of all files relating to the estate; the court ordered that all files relating to the management of the estate be turned over to the … Continue reading