Joe is a paralegal who has worked for an estate planning attorney for seven years and has become acquainted with many of the attorney's clients, and in some cases, the client's family members. A wealthy, longtime client, Alice, met with the attorney to update her estate plan. After discussion, Alice and the attorney decided to prepare an entirely new estate plan. The new estate plan will disinherit Alice's grandchild, Courtney, because she is dating Peter, an unemployed gambling addict. The attorney asks Joe to prepare initial drafts of Alice's new estate plan. Joe knows Courtney because Alice once asked Courtney to assist on a title transfer matter. As he is preparing the draft, Joe receives a call from Courtney. Courtney explains that she spoke with Alice and that Alice has changed her mind about the disinheritance. Courtney claims that Alice instructed her to call Joe and change the estate plan so that Courtney receives the same as all other grandchildren. From the options listed below, what is Joe's best response?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Of the possible responses listed, the best response would be for Joe to tell Courtney that he can only speak to Alice herself about the estate plan and then inform his employer of Courtney's call. In this situation, Joe only has authority to draft the estate plan documents according to the instructions given by his employer. If Joe knows Alice well enough, he may be able to accept a requested change directly from Alice, but even then Joe should report the requested change to his employer. Answer A is incorrect because neither Joe nor his employer have authority to accept the change from Courtney. Answer C would be an inappropriate expression of a personal opinion. Answer D would be both inappropriate and a violation of client confidentiality.

Joe Is a Paralegal Who Has Worked for an Estate