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Will-drafting lawyers take note! Don’t name yourself as the beneficiary of your client’s will.
The Convocation of the Law Society of Upper Canada has approved the following new rule:
Unless the client is a family member of the lawyer or the lawyer’s partner or associate, a lawyer must not prepare or cause to be prepared an instrument giving the lawyer or an associate a gift or benefit from the client, including a testamentary gift.
The new rule, which is a bit of a no-brainer, recognizes that the lawyers owe fiduciary duties to their clients and must not place themselves in a conflict of interest.
If a non-family member client really wants to make a gift to their own lawyer (a proposition which we admit is dubious, but hey – it could happen), they must get independent legal advice.
