Attorney Not Liable For Interest After Failing to Disburse an Estate For Ten Years

Chandler Flickinger, an attorney, drafted two wills for two men; both wills named the Opera Association as a contingent beneficiary. Both men died within days of each other in 1996, and the Opera Association was notified that it was a beneficiary of both estates. Flickinger was appointed executor of both estates, but retired and took no further action in 1999 after an order of disbursement was granted in one of the estates.

Ten years later, in 2009, the Opera Association sued Mr. Flickinger, seeking to close the estate and recover a surcharge from Flickinger for damages. The court ordered Flickinger to pay the loss in value to the estate that resulted from his negligence and the court refused to compensate Flickinger for his work. The Opera Association appealed, claiming that the court should have charged Flickinger interest on the cash in the estate.

In Estate of Kampen (Cal. Ct. App. 1st App. Dist., Dec. 9, 2011), the California Court of Appeals affirmed. The court held that Flickinger was not required to pay interest, noting that nothing in the probate code requires the court to impose such interest on Flickinger. The court also ruled that Flickinger’s affirmative defense of laches barred any claim interest because the Opera Association failed to act and enforce its rights in a timely manner.

See Attorney Not Charged Interest for 10-year Delay in Disbursing Estate, ElderLawAnswers, Dec. 15, 2011.