Can the statutory newspaper notice to estate creditors include a line naming the attorney who represents the estate?

Plain-English summary

Under Article 3502 of the Revised Civil Statutes, an executor or administrator of an estate must, within one month after receiving letters, publish in a county newspaper a notice requiring all persons with claims against the estate to present them within the statutory time. The inquiry asked whether that notice could include, in addition to the statutory information, a line giving the name of the attorney who represents the estate.

The Committee concluded that the practice does not violate any of the Canons of Ethics (6-3).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1953, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990. The advertising restrictions at issue predate Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977), which held that categorical bans on lawyer advertising violate the First Amendment, so the Canon 24 framework used here has since been substantially narrowed. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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: Could the estate notice name the attorney who represents the estate?

A: Yes. The Committee held that adding a line naming the attorney does not violate the Canons (6-3).

Q: Was the notice itself required by law?

A: Yes. The opinion notes that Article 3502 of the Revised Civil Statutes required the executor or administrator to publish the notice to creditors.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 24 (advertising and solicitation), applied to a statutorily required estate notice. Because the notice was mandated by Article 3502 of the Revised Civil Statutes, the Committee treated the attorney's name as an addition to a required publication. The modern analog for communications about a lawyer is ABA Model Rule 7.1.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 7.1 (communications concerning a lawyer's services), as the modern analog
• Texas Canon 24 (advertising and solicitation)

Statutes:

• Article 3502, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas (estate notice to creditors)

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 96: Newspaper Advertisement of Legal Services
• TX Ethics Op. 121: Postage-Meter Civic Slogans
• TX Ethics Op. 110: Contributor Credit Noting "Attorney"

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-75/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_75.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Under Article 3502 of the Revised Civil Statutes an executor or administrator of an estate. within one month after receiving letters, is required to publish in some newspaper printed in the county, a notice requiring all persons having claims against the estate to present same within the time prescribed by law. Is it a violation of any of the Canons of Ethics for such notice, in addition to the information required by statute to be contained in said notice, to contain an additional line which gives the name of the attorney who represents said estate?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 228 (1966)

ADVERTISING - ESTATES - NEWSPAPERS
An executor or administrator of an estate who within one month after receiving letters, publishes in a newspaper printed in the county where the letters were issued a notice requiring all persons having claims against the estate to present them within the time prescribed by law, may, in addition to the information required by statute to be contained in the notice, include a line giving the name of the attorney who represents the estate.

Canon 24.

The committee is of the opinion that the above practice does not violate any of the Canons of Ethics. (6- 3)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 75 (1953)