Opinion
No. SC08-2422.
January 5, 2009.
Lower Tribunal No(s). 2009-30,773(10A)CES.
The Petition for Emergency Suspension filed pursuant to Rule 3-5.2 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar is approved and it is hereby ordered that the respondent is suspended from the practice of law until further order of this Court, and respondent is ordered:
a. To accept no new clients from the date of this Court's order, to cease representing any clients after thirty days of this Court's order, and to cease acting as personal representative for any estate, as guardian for any ward, and as trustee for any trust within thirty days from the date of this Court's order and to immediately turn over to any successor the complete financial records of any estate, guardianship or trust upon the successor's appointment.
b. To immediately furnish a copy of respondent's suspension order to all clients, opposing counsel and courts before which respondent is counsel of record and to furnish Staff Counsel of The Florida Bar with the requisite affidavit listing all clients, opposing counsel and courts so informed within thirty days of this Court's order.
c. To refrain from disbursing or withdrawing any monies from any trust account or other financial institution account related to respondent's law practice, or any financial institution account that contains funds that originated from a probate estate, guardianship estate, or trust for which respondent acted as personal representative, guardian, or trustee since January 1, 2006, until further order of this Court unless the respondent first notifies Chief Branch Discipline Counsel of The Florida Bar of his intention to withdraw funds and Chief Branch Discipline Counsel approves the withdrawal, or by order of a referee appointed by the Florida Supreme Court, or by order of the circuit court in which an inventory attorney has been appointed.
d. To deposit all sums, whether as fees, costs, deposits, or trust funds, received from the practice of law or in connection with respondent's employment as a personal representative, guardian or trustee, into a specified trust account within thirty days of this Court's order and to immediately advise Chief Branch Discipline Counsel of the receipt and location of said funds.
e. To immediately notify in writing all financial institutions in which respondent maintains an account related to the practice of law, or related to services rendered as a personal representative of an estate, as a guardian, or as a trustee, or where respondent maintains an account that contains funds that originated from a probate estate for which he was personal representative, guardianship estate for which he was guardian, or trust for which he was trustee, of the provisions of respondent's suspension and to provide said financial institutions with a copy of this Court's order, and furthermore, to provide Chief Branch Discipline Counsel with a copy of the notice sent to each financial institution.
f. To refrain from transferring the ownership of any real of personal property purchased in whole or in part with funds properly belonging to clients, probate estates for which respondent served as personal representative, guardianship estates for which he served as guardian, and trusts for which he served as trustee, and furthermore to notify Chief Branch Discipline Counsel of any intent to transfer ownership of any real or personal property and to provide Chief Branch Discipline Counsel with information proving that the property to be transferred was not purchased with funds properly belonging to a client, a probate estate for which he served as personal representative, a guardianship estate for which he served as a guardian, or a trust for which he served as a trustee.
g. To return promptly to each client, probate estate, guardianship estate, or trust, upon request, all unearned fees, deposits, expense money, documents, information and other objects or things whatsoever belonging to such client, probate estate, guardianship estate, or trust, and to be available at a single specific business address during normal working hours to receive such requests.
Not final until time expires to file motion for rehearing, and if filed, determined. The filing of a motion for rehearing shall not alter the effective date of this suspension.
QUINCE, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE, LEWIS, and POLSTON, JJ., concur. CANADY, J., recused.