My mother is 85 years old and an attorney is overseeing a trust for her. On 3 separate occasions I have taken my mother to see him and he refuses to let me go in his office with her although she wanted me to be there. This seems odd to me. Is this appropriate on the lawyers part?
Answer
I don't think there's enough information here to tell. You say the attorney is "overseeing" the trust, but I do not know what that means. Drafting the trust is one thing; administering the trust is another. There are questions about wanting to protect the attorney-client privilege, or the appearance of favoritism of one child over the others.
My typical practice is that if a client wants an advisor in the meeting, and the client knows the risks of waiver of privilege and still wants the advisor, I let the client in. This is not, however, required under the law.
If your mother is competent, it is her choice as to whether to continue with this lawyer as a lawyer. The trust document will say whether your mother has the power to remove this lawyer as a trustee. Your mother may need to meet with another attorney for advice here, if she feels at all uncomfortable with existing counsel.
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