Lost Legatee Beneficiary Claims

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in Guy v. Liederbach, 459 A.2d 744 (Pa. 1982), a plurality decision, first considered whether a lost legatee could assert a malpractice claim against the lawyer who drafted the will. In Guy, the lawyer had drafted a will for a then-Pennsylvania resident, the execution of which was witnessed by the named legatee. Eighteen years later, the testator died in New Jersey. Unfortunately for the legatee, a statute was then in effect in New Jersey, since repealed, that nullified any inheritance to any legatee who had witnessed the execution of a will. Because the will was probated in New Jersey the legatee was effectively disinherited, so she sued the lawyer who had drafted the will.