Ethics Ruling Number
R5018
Area of Law
Wills and estates
Category
File destruction
Ethics Ruling Date
18/05/2023
Ethics Pub Date
9/11/2023
Ethics Background
Firm A are seeking guidance from the Ethics Committee regarding the course they should adopt in relation to the holding of confidential personal information of a non-client. Firm A acts for the executor of an estate. In order to properly administer the estate, Firm A have been provided with confidential personal information from one of the beneficiaries. The beneficiary is not an executor. The beneficiary has requested that the information that has been provided and is being held by Firm A should be redacted (beyond name and address) and destroyed, such that they no longer hold the information on the estate file, either electronically or physically. Firm A is subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) due to their annual turnover.
Ruling
In the opinion of the Ethics Committee and on the information presented: 1. The documents are still required for the purposes of complying with fiduciary obligations, statutory record keeping obligations, and the defence of any future claim against the solicitor. Accordingly, the documents are not required to be destroyed under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Law Institute of Victoria
Ethics Committee of Law Institute of Victoria Ltd
Legal Ethics Manager
Phone: 03 9607 9336
Email: ethics@liv.asn.au

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