Vernon lawyer Leonard Marriott.

Image Credit: North Valley Law

A Vernon lawyer who made multiple errors in his "sloppy" handling of a $1.2-million estate — and then paid himself the maximum amount allowed — has been ordered to hand back more than $70,000.

The BC Law Society ordered Leonard Hill Marriott to pay $71,149 back to the estate because he had no right to take the money because the matter had not yet been finalized.

In a Dec. 13 BC Law Society decision, the regulator also found that Marriott's fee was not "not fair and reasonable" and he shouldn't have charged that much.

The case involves an unnamed 95-year-old founder and leader of a long-running "philosophical society" which had a small long-term group of students and members. 

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In 2018, the founder hired Marriott, who does business as North Valley Law, to sort out her will.

She was in poor health and had a broken hip. She told Marriott she wanted to leave her $1,270,520 estate to the philosophical society.

In the summer of 2018, Marriott went to see the woman at her property and was accompanied by some members of the philosophical society and a police officer.

At the time, there was an allegation that the woman was the victim of elder abuse, perpetrated by the son of one of the members who lived at the property and was supposed to be a caregiver. Members were worried this individual wouldn't let the lawyer see the senior.

After the meeting, the lawyer went about writing up the will and the client died four months later.

However, members of the philosophical society complained to the regulator about the way Marriott was handling the estate and an investigation took place.

The Law Society found that Marriott made multiple errors including spelling the beneficiary’s name incorrectly.

"Many of (Marriott's) actions failed to meet the quality of service of a competent wills and estates lawyer. His explanation for how the name of the beneficiary came to be misspelled demonstrated a serious lack of diligence or conscientiousness," the Law Society said. "His explanations for why he never met with (the senior) to confirm her instructions or review the draft Will with her or execute the Will showed a lack of common sense and a serious failure to provide competent legal service."

The Law Society said Marriott did not appear to know the general procedures of estate law.

"(He) did not sufficiently investigate facts, identify issues or ascertain client objectives, and did not communicate at all relevant stages in a timely and effective manner, or perform all functions conscientiously, diligently and in a timely manner," the decision reads.

The regulator found Marriott had failed to meet his professional obligations regarding many aspects of the will and had committed professional misconduct.

"(Marriott's) actions with regard to the drafting and execution of (the) Will were a marked departure from the conduct expected from a lawyer," the decision reads.

The lawyer was also accused of misappropriating $26,760 of the estate in fees.

However, the Law Society found that Marriott was entitled to withdraw $19,200 in fees, but not the remaining $7,560.

Almost $7,000 of this amount was a bill Marriott had paid himself for the time spent responding to a complaint to the regulator from one of the philosophical society's members.

The Law Society found this was professional misconduct.

The decision also says that Marriott made multiple applications to delay the hearing, although most were rejected by the Law Society.

Marriott now has until Dec. 31 to pay the $71,149 back to the estate.

Any penalty will be decided at a later date.

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