Indiana Supreme Court deems sale of estate planning services an unauthorized practice of law: State ex rel. State Bar Ass'n v. United Fin. Sys. Corp., 926 N.E.2d 8 (Ind. 2010)

United Financial Systems Corporation (UFSC), an insurance marketing agency, marketed and sold estate planning services, with its most expensive plan including a will, trust, powers of attorney, deeds, and the promise of future amendments as needed. Once UFSC made a sale, a client's information was routed to an independently contracted attorney, who then contacted the client and drafted the estate planning documents

Accusing UFSC of the unauthorized practice of law, the Indiana State Bar Association (ISBA) filed an action against UFSC. In addressing ISBA's allegations, the court noted that:

preparing and drafting a will, and giving advice regarding the contents and effect of a will, constitute the practice of law. Likewise, "[d]rafting and preparing testamentary and trust documents is clearly the practice of law."

(citations omitted)

UFSC did not question these principles. Instead, it argued that its business practices were lawful due to the involvement of its panel attorneys. Specifically, it argued that its business model was structured in a manner that sufficiently involved the exercise of independent professional judgment by attorneys, noting that its panel attorneys played a greater role than merely drafting testamentary documents.

In entering judgment against UFSC, the court held that:

UFSC's business model has marginalized the attorney's role to such a degree as to cross the line of permissible practices. We are also convinced that the changes UFSC indicates it has made to its business model in Indiana since the filing of the verified petition are cosmetic at best and are not remotely sufficient to prevent its business model from running afoul of the prohibition against the unauthorized practice of law.

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