Does the Attorney-Client Relationship Survive the Client’s Death?

In general, when you authorize a person to act on your behalf, that authorization will end if you die. For example, if you sign a power of attorney designating someone to serve as your agent, your death automatically terminates that relationship. Similarly, if a Florida court appoints a person to act as guardian for a ward (i.e., an incapacitated adult), the guardianship itself terminates if the ward dies. In either scenario, any authority to manage the deceased person’s property would pass to the personal representative of their probate estate.

Deceased Daughter’s Law Firm Not Authorized to Seek Reimbursement of Fees From Parents

But what about an attorney-client relationship? Can an attorney continue to act on their client’s behalf if the client has died? As you can probably guess, Florida courts have answered this question with an emphatic “no.”

Just recently, the Florida Second District Court of Appeal addressed this situation. In this case, Wheeler v. Dovey, a father and mother filed a civil lawsuit against their adult daughter, seeking a court-ordered partition and sale of property the three of them jointly owned. The trial court ruled in favor of the daughter. As part of that ruling, the judge also said the daughter was entitled to reimbursement of her attorney fees from her parents.

Unfortunately, before the trial court could hold a hearing to determine the amount of that reimbursement, the daughter apparently passed away. The daughter’s attorneys, however, proceeded with the hearing to determine the reimbursement of legal fees. The judge ordered the parents to pay approximately $50,000.

The father appealed, arguing that her late daughter’s attorneys had no authority to seek reimbursement of her attorney fees after she died. The Second District agreed. It explained that the attorney-client relationship between the daughter and her lawyers terminated upon her death. And under Florida law, the right to seek reimbursement of legal fees usually belongs to the client–not the attorney.

Now, when the party to a lawsuit dies, there are procedures in place to “substitute” a successor, which is usually the personal representative of the deceased party’s estate. In this case, nobody filed a motion for substitution. Indeed, the Second District observed that nobody even filed a formal “suggestion of death” with the trial court. But the absence of such a suggestion or motion did not mean that the deceased party’s attorney could proceed on behalf of the deceased client. Accordingly, the Second District reversed the award of attorney fees.

Contact a Pompano Beach Estate Litigation Attorney Today

Cases like this demonstrate the importance of having a personal representative in place to handle any outstanding legal claims left by a deceased individual. If you are involved in a legal dispute involving such issues, it is best to consult with a qualified Pompano Beach estate and trust litigation lawyer as soon as possible. Call the offices of Mark R. Manceri, P.A., today to schedule a consultation.

Source:

2dca.flcourts.gov/content/download/2442660/opinion/Opinion_2023-2363.pdf