WSBA 1989

What must a lawyer do with a deceased lawyer's files that contain original wills and deeds when the clients cannot be located?

Short answer: The committee concluded that the lawyer had to continue safeguarding original wills, deeds, and other client property when the clients could not be located, but that file materials that are not client property could be destroyed.

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This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.

Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

A lawyer held the files of a deceased lawyer, which included original wills and other original legal documents, and asked about disposing of them. The committee applied RPC 1.14, which addresses the safeguarding of client property. It was of the opinion that the lawyer had to continue to safeguard original wills, deeds, or other client property if the clients could not be located to return the property to them. Other file materials that are not client property, the committee said, could be destroyed.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1989, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Can a lawyer destroy a deceased lawyer's client files?

A: Under this 1989 opinion, only in part. Original wills, deeds, and other client property had to be safeguarded; other materials that are not client property could be destroyed.

Q: What if the clients cannot be located to return their property?

A: The committee said the lawyer had to continue safeguarding the client property rather than dispose of it.

Q: Which materials may be destroyed?

A: File materials that are not client property, as distinguished from original client documents like wills and deeds.

Background and rules framework

RPC 1.14, as Washington numbered it at the time, addressed the safekeeping of client funds and property; its subject corresponds to ABA Model Rule 1.15. The committee read the rule's safeguarding requirement to extend to original client documents inherited in a deceased lawyer's files, distinguishing client property that must be preserved from ordinary file materials that may be destroyed.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

ABA Model Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property)
Washington RPC 1.14 (preserving identity of client funds and property, as then numbered)

Source

Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=338

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

The Committee considered your inquiry concerning the disposal of files of a deceased lawyer which are in your custody which include various documents including original wills and other original legal documents. The Committee was of the opinion that the requirements of RPC 1.14 regarding the safeguarding of client property require that you continue to safeguard original wills, deeds, or other client property if you cannot locate the clients to return it to them, but that other file materials that are not client property may be destroyed.

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