Massachusetts Legal Malpractice Lawyers

Legal Malpractice Cases Over A Estate Will

Thomas F. Broderick, Boston, MA (Suspended)
Claimants (brother and sister) retained Mr. Broderick to represent them in settling their father's estate. In his will, claimants' father named them co-executors and distributed the estate equally between them, except for one piece of real estate left in trust to the sister. Claimants entered into a fee agreement to pay Mr. Broderick $175 per hour for his services.  On July 11, 1996, Mr. Broderick filed the petition for probate. On October 25, 1996, claimants were appointed co-executors, and their father's will was admitted to probate. The estate consisted of four parcels of real estate valued at approximately $570,000 and personal property valued at approximately $1,350,000. Claimants agreed to sell the real estate.  After selling one piece of real estate, Mr. Broderick asked the brother if he and his sister would pay him a flat fee instead of an hourly fee. The flat fee would include all legal fees paid to date and all future legal work with respect to any and all matters pertaining to the estate, including all legal matters that may arise from any state or federal tax audit. 

Claimants agreed to modify the fee agreement and paid Mr. Broderick $40,000 in early 1997.  By early 1999, claimants discovered that Mr. Broderick had neither filed an inventory nor an accounting.  Mr. Broderick's handling of an ancillary administration of estate property in Florida drew complaints of tardiness from Florida counsel.  Claimants discharged Mr. Broderick and requested a description of work done for the estate and an accounting of his time.  Mr. Broderick provided neither. In support of his $40,000 fee, he provided claimants and Bar Counsel with only an IRS estate tax declaration form 4421 showing a fee "paid or to be paid" of $40,000.  In 1999, the brother and sister each retained separate counsel for their respective interests. 

Claimants sought the unearned portion of the $40,000 fee. Bar Counsel prepared a detailed analysis of Mr. Broderick's work on the estate that concluded Mr. Broderick billed over 51 "fraudulent" hours, over 32 hours of "inflated" work, and over 17 hours of "non-existent conversations."  Claimants paid their successor counsel more than $33,000, an indicator of the scope of work left undone by Mr. Broderick.  The Board found a defalcation and awarded each claimant, as individuals (and not co-executors), $10,000 because their father's estate was already closed.

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