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4 Conn. Prob. L.J. 354 (1988-1989)

handle is hein.journals/qplj4 and id is 376 raw text is: KRAWCZYK v. STINGLE

208 Conn. 239, 543 A.2d 733 (1988)
FACTS
The plaintiffs, intended beneficiaries of two inter vivos trusts,
sought damages for legal malpractice against the named defendant
and her former employer. On Tuesday, March 8, 1983, Joseph C.
Krawczyk, the decedent, met with defendant Kathleen D. Stingle,
who was then employed as an attorney by defendant Trantolo &
Trantolo, P.C. Krawczyk informed Stingle that he wanted to ar-
range for the disposition of his estate because he was being admit-
ted to the hospital for open heart surgery. Krawczyk's main con-
cern was to avoid probate while providing for his brothers and
sisters, his mother, and his daughter. Stingle suggested creating an
inter vivos trust because it would avoid probate, but advised
Krawczyk that a will would be less expensive and less complicated.
Krawczyk decided to have the trust documents drafted. Accord-
ingly, Stingle agreed to prepare the documents for Krawczyk to be
signed the following Tuesday, March 15, and explained that she
would need additional information, including the names of his
banks, his account numbers, and a legal description of his real
property.
Krawczyk delivered some of the information on Friday, March
11, but did not deliver the remainder until March 15. As a result,
Stingle could not complete the documents for Krawczyk to sign at
that meeting. They agreed to meet the following Saturday, March
19. Krawczyk, however, suffered a massive heart attack on Thurs-
day, March 17, and was unable to meet with Stingle because he
had been placed in the intensive care unit at Hartford Hospital.
When notified of this event, Stingle did not inquire further as to
Krawczyk's condition nor did she proceed to complete the trust
documents. The next afternoon, Stingle was notified        that
Krawczyk was extremely ill and she was instructed to bring the
trust documents to the hospital. Stingle spent two hours complet-
ing the documents and then brought them to the hospital where
she was told by Krawczyk's physician that he could not be seen
due to his deteriorating condition. Krawczyk died shortly thereaf-

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