Attorney-Trustee Resigns From Practice of Law After Converting Almost $450,000

A Texas lawyer has recently resigned from the practice of law because of his evil conduct.

Here is a description of his conduct as set forth in Disciplinary Actions, 70 Tex. B.J. 174 (2007):

[He] served as trustee of a trust since its creation on Jan. 5, 1995.  As part of the trust estate, the trustee owned the home in which the trust beneficiary resides. Traver’s trustee duties included being responsible for paying the expenses associated with the home from the trust estate. The beneficiary learned that many of the trust bills were being paid late or with insufficient funds and a lawsuit had been initiated to collect delinquent property taxes.  [The lawyer] finally paid the taxes and related costs and the lawsuit was dismissed. Subsequently, the beneficiary retained the complainant * * * to assist her in obtaining financial information from [the lawyer] regarding assets of the trust.  Thereafter, the complainant requested an accounting of the trust’s financial activities from inception to the present. The complainant secured the assistance of an accountant to prepare the accounting of the trust’s financial records. Based on the accountant’s examination of the trust’s financial records provided by [the lawyer], the complainant determined that [the lawyer], in his capacity as trustee, utilized funds from the trust for his personal benefit.  [The lawyer] entered into a settlement agreement to repay the beneficiary of the trust a total of $450,000.