How Far? This Far

Opening with a rhetorical question, the Iowa Supreme Court dismissed with prejudice a bar disciplinary matter

How far can a lawyer go to assist a client in preserving assets from a potential creditor?

The client, a wealthy farmer, had shot and killed a neighbor. He was the defendant in an action by the decceased’s estate.  The client vowed that the widow “would not get one dime” of his money.

The lawyer was involved in the transfers of the client’s assets to his wife and later to relatives.

Here, the court affirmed findings that the attorney had been duped by the client rather than knowingly participted in a fraudulent transfer of assets.

KCRG.com had this report in the civil case. (Mike Frisch)