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Solicitor guilty of withholding $46k in estate funds for 17 years
A Victorian solicitor has been found guilty of misconduct at common law for holding onto $46,115 of estate funds for 17 years, despite evidence he knew of the amount owing.
Naomi Neilson
Francis Julian R Hunt told the courts he was overwhelmed with two practices and family issues between 2001 and 2017, leading to the “inordinate delay” of distributing $46,115 remaining in a trust account to finalise the estate of a woman who died in 1996.
By a letter in June 2001, the solicitors for a beneficiary provided a response to the minor issue and requested the final amount. When he did not respond, the solicitors then sent a follow-up request in 2002 and then again in 2003, with no answer. At the time, he told the courts that he could not find the estate, so he decided to not respond.
However, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found that the estate balance would have been apparent to Mr Hunt when he conducted his monthly reconciliations in his trust account. When his accounts were computerised in 2003, Mr Hunt would have seen the overdue balance that much more clearly in monthly reports.
“The respondent’s lack of attention to the balance continued for such a long duration that an inordinate delay eventuated. The respondent’s conduct in relation to the balance was such that it would be reasonably regarded as disgraceful and dishonourable by the legal practitioner of good repute and competency,” the tribunal documents read.
The amount was eventually uncovered by the Victorian Law Institute’s investigation. The tribunal noted that if this investigation was able to uncover the file, there was no excuse for why the file could not have been located by Mr Hunt in 2002.
“The respondent cannot be excused for his inaction in finalising the estate,” the tribunal read. “However, taking into account his hitherto unblemished disciplinary record, his good character, his involvement in the community, his preparedness to mentor young practitioners, the pecuniary impact of the compensation paid to the beneficiary, his apology and acknowledgement of his foolish misconduct.... the appropriate penalty both in terms of specific and general deterrence is a reprimand and a fine.”
Mr Hunt was reprimanded, ordered to pay $5,000 to the Victorian Legal Services Board and another $5,000 to the applicant.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
