A solicitor has been struck off after misleading the family of a deceased relative that arrangements had been dealt with.
John Mark O’Hara Walker’s client died intestate in July 2015 after he failed to make a will on her behalf. This resulted in her three sons, two of which live in care, being left without any immediate provision.
However, Walker then continued to mislead the family of the deceased in regard to her alleged estate administration. In order to demonstrate he had made progress with the estate, the former legal director created a false grant of probate which he claimed to have been issued out of the High Court.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that Walker, who had been in the profession for three decades, admitted dishonesty both in respect of his clients and his firm. Whilst they stated that they did not know what the consequences were for the son’s of the deceased, the tribunal found that ‘they were certainly made more vulnerable by his actions and deceit.’
It also noted that the sons were ‘kept out of the money from their late mother’s Estate for at least a couple of years and of the benefits and financial support which they could have derived from it.’
In regard to the decision to ban him from the profession, the tribunal found that striking off was a proportionate sanction and ‘the only appropriate one in the circumstances.’
He was also ordered to pay costs of £3,000.
