Can a law firm give its will clients a printed memorandum, bearing the firm's name, explaining events that could affect their wills?

Plain-English summary

A member's firm wanted to prepare a commercially printed, one-page memorandum bearing the firm's name. It would generally explain the possible effects on a will of substantial depreciation or appreciation of a testator's assets, or of marriage, divorce, birth, or death of the testator or potential beneficiaries. A copy would be given only to testators of wills the firm prepared, delivered at the time the will was executed, to impress on the client the importance of the information supplied during estate planning.

The committee saw no ethical impropriety in the proposed practice, and said most members affirmatively approved it as a wise and valuable service to the client. It suggested, however, that the memorandum be prepared in letter form, with provision for typing in the client's name and address, so that in essence the material would be a letter from the firm directed to an individual client.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1964, before The Florida Bar's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. The opinion applied former Canons 27 and 28 of the Canons of Professional Ethics, concerning advertising and solicitation; the published opinion maps the analysis to current Rules 4-7.11 and 4-7.18(a) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar (Model Rules 7.2 and 7.3), with the duty to keep a client informed addressed by Rule 4-1.4 (Model Rule 1.4). Florida's advertising and solicitation rules were also substantially affected by Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), decided after this opinion. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against the current rules before relying on any specific requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could the firm give will clients a printed memo bearing its name?

A: Yes. The committee saw no ethical impropriety, and most members approved it as a valuable service, where the memo went only to testators of wills the firm prepared.

Q: What form did the committee prefer?

A: A letter. It suggested the memorandum be cast in letter form with the client's name and address typed in, so it reads as a letter from the firm to an individual client.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied former Canons 27 and 28 of the Canons of Professional Ethics on advertising and solicitation. The published opinion maps the analysis to current Rules 4-7.11 and 4-7.18(a) of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar (Model Rules 7.2 and 7.3); the duty to keep clients informed appears in Rule 4-1.4 (Model Rule 1.4). The committee treated a memorandum delivered to the firm's own will clients as client service rather than improper advertising.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Canons 27, 28 [Canons of Professional Ethics; advertising and solicitation; see current Rules 4-7.11, 4-7.18(a)]

See also

• FL Bar Ethics Op. 64-61: Alerting Will Clients to Tax-Law Changes
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 65-20: Wills for a Group of Coworkers

Source

• Landing page: https://www.floridabar.org/etopinions/etopinion-64-60/
• Original PDF: https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2017/04/FL-Bar-Ethics-Op-64-60-1.pdf

Original opinion text

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

FLORIDA BAR ETHICS OPINION
OPINION 64-60
October 6, 1964
Advisory ethics opinions are not binding.
A law firm may provide testators of wills prepared by the firm with a memorandum containing a general explanation of the possible effects upon a will of substantial depreciation or appreciation of a testator's assets or of marriage, divorce, birth or death of the testator or potential beneficiaries.
Canons: 27, 28 [See current 4-7.11 and 4-7.18(a)]
Chairman Smith stated the opinion of the committee:
A member of The Florida Bar states that his firm desires to prepare a memorandum which would be commercially printed and would bear the name of the firm. The memorandum would consist of one page of single spaced printing on lettersize paper, and would contain a general explanation of the possible effects of substantial depreciation or appreciation of a testator's assets, or of marriage, divorce, birth or death of the testator or potential beneficiaries. A copy of this memorandum would be given only to testators of wills prepared by the firm and delivery would be made to the client at the time of execution of the will. The purpose of the memorandum is to impress upon the client the importance of information which is supplied to him in the course of planning the estate and preparation of the will.
The Committee sees no ethical impropriety in the practice proposed. Indeed, most members affirmatively approve the practice as a wise and valuable service to the client. It is suggested, however, that the memorandum be prepared in letter form and provision made for typing the client's name and address on the form so that in essence the material supplied will be a letter from the firm directed to an individual client.