Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Georgia

When an attorney drafts a will, that attorney may or may not become the attorney for the estate. In the old days, maybe they would, buit with the mobility of people, that is not an automatic assumption anymore.

In all estates, the attorney for the estate is paid by the estate. However, as a practical matter, the executrix may need to cough up an initial retainer until the estate is set up and then get reimbursed. That is between the attorney and executrix however.

While in theory the estate attorney represents the estate and all the beneficiaries, in practice, it is the executrix who can hire and fire the attorney, so the executrix is really the de facto client.

I don't see how the attorney can stop any of the beneficiaries from speaking with each other if they so choose. If the executrix will not answer questions, then do not ask any of her.

The beneficiaries have a choice - they can run the risk of being charged by the estate attorney or they can take the estate attorney's advice and get their own attorney. Probably, those beneficiaries who can afford to do so and who have concerns should hire one attorney to represent their interests.

While I take issue with how the executrix is choosing to behave, she could be deferring to the lawyer for all sorts of reasons ranging from nefarious to something innocuous. I cannot judge based on your facts or lack thereof. I also don't know how often questions are posed that have to be answered. The attorney does not work for free and does not want to spend his day answering estate questions. The attorney has other clients and if the questions border on being an annoyance, it might be proper. Or it might be a threat just to discourage questions. Without more information to know what is being asked and how often, I can't say.

What does defamation have to do with this? Attorneys who handle estate administration usually don't do defamation and vice-a-versa. They are each specialized areas of the law. But even if so, then the attorney would in theory should have a separate file and fee agreement with the executrix if the attorney was also going to handle her defamation case. However, I don't tell other attorneys how they should set up their files and handle their clients so that is again between the attorney and the executrix.

Rachel gave an excellent answer. Let me add that as a general rule, the ONLY person who should be calling the estate's lawyer is the executrix. The attorney actually represents the person who hired him and that is her. He does not represent you or the other heirs, has no duty to you, and should be telling you not to call. It would be unethical and a possible conflict of interest to advise you and the executrix.

As Rachel indicated, if you have concerns and enough is at stake, you need to seek your own counsel.