On Thursday, December 28, 2023, attorney David W. Veliz filed his official written response to a complaint filed against him by The Florida Bar before the Supreme Court of Florida.
The case is entitled “The Florida Bar v. David W. Veliz,” with case no. SC2023-1705.
The Florida Bar filed a complaint on December 8, 2023, alleging Mr. Veliz violated several Rules of Professional Conduct in his representation of a now-deceased client, Blanca Kokot. Specifically, the Bar alleged Veliz acted improperly by drafting wills for Kokot that named his sister and mother as beneficiaries and appointed his mother as personal representative of Kokot’s estate. Veliz was also Kokot’s real estate agent for the sale of her home. After Kokot died in 2021, Veliz’ mother received payment as the estate’s representative.
In his answer to the complaint, Mr. Veliz admitted to most of the underlying facts as presented by The Florida Bar. However, he denied violating any rules of conduct. Specifically, he denied failing to obtain proper informed consent from Ms. Kokot regarding the appointment of his mother as personal representative, as alleged in the complaint.
According to avvo.com, Mr. Veliz is a family attorney in Maitland, Florida. He attended the John Marshall Law School, in Chicago, graduating in 1989. He acquired his law license in Florida in 1990.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
