Recently, during discovery in a will contest, a New York Surrogate court forced the drafting attorney of a will to fork over his computer. In In re Nunz, the court found that there was a “proper basis” for the attorney to turn over of his computer, helping to resolve uncertain issues regarding the execution of the will. The decedent had drafted a will leaving out five of his six children from a previous marriage; accordingly, they contested the will when documentation for the will’s preparation went allegedly missing from the drafting attorney’s computer. At a hearing, the court held that the electronically stored information was “clearly discoverable” for the children to obtain the material and necessary information. This case represents another example of how electronically stored information finds its way into a proceeding.
See Brian Spiro, Drafting Attorney’s Computer Inspected for Evidence in Will Contest, Florida Probate Lawyers, October 18, 2016.
