On Thursday, June 22, 2023, the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania suspended attorney John Mcdanel for failing to fulfill his duties as executor of an estate.

The case is entitled “Office of the Disciplinary Counsel v. John Mcdanel”, and was brought by the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel with case no. 19 DB 2023.

According to allegations, the respondent, acting as the executor of an estate, purportedly neglected to submit a petition for the grant of letters testamentary, which is necessary for initiating the process of opening and managing the estate. Additionally, it is claimed that the respondent failed to file an estate tax return and fulfill the associated tax obligations within the required timeframe of nine months following the client’s passing. Furthermore, the respondent allegedly did not distribute the two IRA CDs that were part of the client’s estate upon their demise.

The filing states:

“As executor of Mr. Kline’s estate, Respondent failed to file a Petition for Grant of Letters Testamentary for purposes of opening and administering Mr. Kline’s estate. As executor of Mr. Kline’s estate, Respondent failed to file an estate tax return and pay the amount due within nine months of Mr. Kline’s death or at any point thereafter.”

The filing continues:

“Pursuant to Article 6 of the Trust, upon Mr. Kline’s death, Respondent was to distribute the residue of the Kline Trust Estate to Mr. Kline’s adult children, Laurie Lamoreaux and Scott Kline. As trustee of the Kline Trust, Respondent failed to distribute the two IRA CDs upon Mr. Kline’s death.”

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania suspended the respondent after carefully reviewing a joint petition presented by the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel and the respondent, which supported discipline on consent.

The Disposition states:

“ORDERED that JOHN McDANEL be subjected to a PUBLIC REPRIMAND by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as provided in Rule 204(a) and Rule 205(c)(9) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement.”

Mr. McDanel practices in Berwick, Pennsylvania. He is licensed in Pennsylvania. His info can be found on lawyersjustia.com.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.