Vassallo v. Bean

Vassallo v. Bean, 2016 WL 3474981 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016)

This decision deals with the question of whether a drafting attorney can be compelled to answer questions about a testator's reasons for disinheriting his children at a deposition.  The attorney claimed that the statements were confidential pursuant to Florida Bar Rule 4-1.6.  The Court found that Rule 4-1.6 applies only in situations other than those where evidence is sought from the lawyer through compulsion of law, and that F.S. 90.502(4)(b) (which states that there is no attorney-client privilege when a communication is relevant to an issue between parties who claim through the same deceased client) required the lawyer to answer the questions.

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