A Vernon lawyer has been ordered to pay back more than $71,000 into his trust account after a Law Society of BC panel found he'd committed professional misconduct when he withdrew the funds, and also when he mishandled the execution of a will.

A Dec. 13 decision from the Law Society outlines three allegations against Leonard Marriott, who operates North Valley Law with locations in Vernon, Armstrong and Enderby.

The first allegation dated back to July 2018, when Marriott was retained by a 95-year-old woman to prepare her will. The law society panel found Marriott had "failed to provide the quality of service required of a professional lawyer" on the basis of five acts of misconduct. 

Those misconducts included failing to obtain, confirm, and/or correctly document instructions from the client; failing to determine the status of a society as a legal entity when he drafted the will naming the society as a beneficiary; failing to review the final draft of the client's will with the client before it was signed; failing to ensure that the will was properly executed; and failing to take appropriate steps to deal with matters affecting the validity of the will.

The panel said Marriott's failure to properly execute the will "amounted to a marked departure from the conduct expected from a lawyer in this situation," and was professional misconduct.

The panel said Marriott's evidence and testimony about the matter confirmed he "did not appear to know the general principles and procedures in his practice area." 

The second allegation related to the "pre-taking" of more than $71,000 in executor fees. A pre-taking is when executor fees are taken before an executor's accounts are passed by a court, according to the Law Society. 

The Law Society said Marriott improperly withdrew the funds in March 2019, adding he was not entitled to executor fees of five per cent of the gross estate. 

Marriott testified that he spent "many hours" administering the estate, but the panel noted he did not provide documentary evidence that this was the case. 

The panel ordered Marriott to return the $71,149.12 to his trust account by Dec. 31 and not withdraw the funds until he obtains consent from the beneficiary, or a court order. 

The third allegation concerned Marriott's withdrawal of $26,760.21 in legal fees.

The Law Society argued these fees were withdrawn without entitlement.

The legal fees included $7,560 which Marriott spent responding to a Law Society complaint against him and for filing the Speculation Property Tax.

The panel decided that only the withdrawal of the $7,560 and not the remaining $19,200 was professional misconduct.

An allegation of misappropriation was not established.