A Lack Of Charity

An attorney resigned from practice in Massachusetts and admitted conversion of estate proceeds that the decedent had donated to charity

In May of 2009, the respondent filed a petition for probate of a will and appointment of an executor with the Probate Court. He contacted a Florida charity and informed it that the decedent had left her real estate to the charity. The CEO of the charity informed the respondent of the charity’s desire to sell the home and use the proceeds to further their charitable purposes. The property was sold in November of 2009, and the respondent deposited the proceeds to his IOLTA account. Net of various fees and commissions, the amount owed to the Florida charity was $179,106.65.

The respondent failed to promptly disburse the funds due the charity and failed to hold the funds in a separate interest-bearing account. Between November and December 2009, the respondent intentionally misused approximately $100,000 of the charity’s funds for purposes unrelated to the estate.

In February 2011, by letter to the charity, the respondent enclosed a check for a partial distribution in the amount of $75,000. In the letter, the respondent falsely stated that he had been engaged in an attempt to settle a claim against the estate, and as soon as that was resolved, the balance of the distribution would be paid.

The charity was still owed at least $104,106.65. By letters in April and July 2012, counsel for the charity requested that the respondent provide a status of the estate, an inventory and an accounting of the estate.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court accepted the resignation as a disciplinary sanction. (Mike Frisch)