Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Father-Son Attorneys Fight Over Family Trust With Claims of Dementia, Fraud


A prominent Miami attorney-philanthropist is fighting claims that he has dementia and is a vulnerable victim of financial fraud. The assertions come from his son, a former Bush administration general counsel and U.N. representative.

A state appeals court panel has rejected a bid by a lawyer for the medical records of his father, also a lawyer, in a fight over claims of dementia and financial fraud.

Mark Wallace subpoenaed the records of his father, Milton Wallace, to use in an as-yet-unfiled case to have his father declared incapacitated. But a probate court agreed with lawyers for Milton Wallace to protect the records.

Mark Wallace appealed, but a Third District panel in June split 2-1 to affirm the lower court order enjoining ex parte communications with a future examining committee to be named if Mark Wallace filed a petition for incapacity.

Todd Legon, Milton Wallace’s longtime law partner at Legon Ponce & Fodiman in Miami, said the decision was “an important victory for seniors in Florida because it prevents their constitutionally protected medical records from being used against them in legal proceedings.”

Legon flatly denied the claim that Milton Wallace has dementia.

Mark Wallace did not return a call for comment by deadline. His attorney, Brian Stack of Stack Fernandez & Harris in Miami, had no comment on the litigation.

At the appeals court, Judge Vance Salter dissented, saying the injunction was premature, unwarranted and amounted to “a prior restraint and ‘medical gag order.’ ”

He maintained Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer, who is hearing the trust case, lacked jurisdiction to issue an injunction affecting Mark Wallace’s contemplated guardianship case.

Judge Eric Hendon, writing for the majority, dismissed that concern in a footnote, saying a protective order allows “the guardianship judge to readdress matters in the order” if that case is filed.

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