Can an estate's lawyer disclose that the deceased client appears to have hidden assets to obtain free hospital care?

Plain-English summary

A lawyer who now represents a deceased client's estate received information that the client may have failed to disclose assets to a hospital where he was treated and so may have obtained some free hospital care. The committee was of the opinion that the information is not a confidence or secret of the deceased client, because the lawyer learned of it after the client was deceased.

The committee was of the opinion that the information is, however, a confidence or secret of the personal representative of the estate. RPC 1.6(c) permits disclosure of confidences or secrets of court-appointed fiduciaries that disclose a breach of their fiduciary responsibility. Whether that has occurred in this case is a question of law the committee cannot answer.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1992, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Is information learned after a client's death the deceased client's confidence?

A: The committee was of the opinion that it is not, because the lawyer learned of it after the client was deceased.

Q: Whose confidence is it then?

A: The committee said it is a confidence or secret of the personal representative of the estate.

Q: Can the lawyer disclose it?

A: The committee said RPC 1.6(c) permits disclosing a court-appointed fiduciary's breach of fiduciary responsibility, but whether such a breach occurred is a question of law it cannot answer.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied RPC 1.6 (confidentiality), and specifically RPC 1.6(c), which addresses confidences of court-appointed fiduciaries and permits disclosure revealing a breach of fiduciary duty; the rule corresponds to ABA Model Rule 1.6. The committee located the confidence in the personal representative rather than the deceased client and left the breach determination to the law.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• ABA Model Rule 1.6 (confidentiality of information); Washington RPC 1.6(c) (confidences of court-appointed fiduciaries)

See also

• WA Ethics Op. 1496: Client's False Statements to a Court
• WA Ethics Op. 1489: Disclosing Client Info to Collect a Fee

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=583

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 1502
Year Issued: 1992
RPC(s): RPC 1.6(c)
Subject: Confidence or secret; disclosure of misrepresentation by deceased client by lawyer for the estate

The Committee reviewed your inquiry concerning information you have received that a deceased client whose estate you now represent may have failed to disclose assets to a hospital in which he was being treated and, therefore, any have obtained some free hospital care. The Committee was of the opinion that the information is not a confidence or secret of your deceased client because you learned of it after the client was deceased. However, the Committee was of the opinion that it is a confidence or secret of the personal representative of the estate. RPC 1.6(c) permits disclosure of confidences of secrets of court appointed fiduciaries which disclose breach of their fiduciary responsibility. Whether that has occurred in this case is a question of law which the Committee cannot answer.