TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jan 26, 2024

Davidson County lawyer Joseph Paul Weyant has received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Weyant was hired to file a petition to probate a client’s late fiancé’s estate. At the time the fiancé died, the fiancé was a beneficiary of his mother’s estate, and it was anticipated that he would receive a distribution from that estate. Weyant filed the petition but then filed a motion to close the estate prior to a distribution. Weyant then terminated representation of the client. The client hired another attorney to reopen the late fiancé’s estate and paid that attorney $3,102. The court found that Weyant’s action violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4 and 8.4(d). The court also conditioned the censure on the payment of $3,102 in restitution to the client within 90 days.