Professional Negligence Law Reporter

The Wyoming Supreme Court held that a divorce attorney was not liable to the son of a client who died before his divorce could be finalized.

Michael Schlegel sought to divorce his wife, Charlene. Michael’s son, Taran, reportedly had a negative relationship with Charlene, his stepmother, and encouraged his father to divorce her. Attorney Shelby Noel Hughes represented Schlegel in the divorce and attended a hearing on his behalf. Before the divorce was finalized, Schlegel died intestate. Taran inherited 25% of his father’s estate, and Charlene inherited 50%. The remainder went to the children of Schlegel’s other child, who had predeceased him. Taran sued Hughes and her firm, alleging legal negligence. The plaintiff asserted that the delay in presenting Schlegel’s divorce decree to the court led to a diminished inheritance and that Charlene had inherited approximately $500,000 more than she would have had a divorce been finalized before Schlegel’s death. The defendants moved successfully for summary judgment.

Affirming, the state high court noted that the main question presented was whether Taran was an intended beneficiary of Schlegel’s divorce. In other words, the court said, it must be determined whether Taran was intended to benefit directly from the divorce proceedings. The court found that the evidence showed that while Taran was an intended beneficiary of Schlegel’s estate, he remained an incidental beneficiary of his father’s divorce, which was not intended to serve as an estate planning device.

Consequently, the state high court concluded that the summary judgment ruling was proper.

Citation: Schlegel v. Barney & Graham, LLC, 536 P.3d 231 (Wyo. 2023).