I developed a different strategy and began utilising the complaint mechanisms that are available to consumers of legal services within the state of Victoria. I thought that this strategy would resolve the issues pertaining to my mother's estate and the problems created by the lawyer/executor for my late mother's family. I saw this as a mechanism that would not incur further legal costs as lawyer/executors are not allowed to charge for their time in responding to issues raised with the bodies responsible for handling such matters. Being a beneficiary and not the executor has meant that my complaints regarding the actions of the lawyer concerned were very limited by law, as a beneficiary to a deceased estate is not considered a client of the executor.
Hence the saga continues.
I initially wrote to the legal ombudsman to raise a complaint against the lawyer/executor in regard to the methods used in his handling of my request for my mother's medical records. Complaints against lawyer/executors are limited to the executor. Beneficiaries of an estate are not considered clients of the lawyer. The executor is not seen to be acting as a lawyer and is not under the auspices of the Victorian Law Institute. The fact that he is a lawyer is considered irrelevant by the Law Institute.
The legal profession defends its autonomy and has resisted calls for outside input. My case is just an example of why the legal profession needs outside regulation and cannot be allowed to remain self-regulating. This would allow beneficiaries (relatives) of deceased estates to have a fair go when entangled by the legal system.
