An appeals court in Indiana has dismissed a legal malpractice lawsuit filed by two siblings against an estate planning lawyer. The court ruled that their challenge over their late father's $3 million (£2.3 million) trust was filed after the legal deadline.
In a decision issued on October 14, 2026, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Indiana upheld a trial court ruling in favour of Columbus attorney F. Jefferson Crump III. The trial court had granted summary judgment, meaning the case was decided without a full trial. The lawsuit was filed by Julia Beaman and William Bobbs Jr. They claimed that Crump failed to meet his professional duties when he prepared an irrevocable trust in 2018 for their father, William Bobbs Sr.
The trust was meant to pay for the care of his second wife at a retirement community that cost about $4,000 (£3,070) a month. Writing for the unanimous appeals panel, Judge Patricia A. May ruled that the siblings' claims were too late under Indiana's two-year deadline for filing legal malpractice lawsuits.
Creation of the estate plan and retirement trust
According to court filings published by Justia Law, William Bobbs Sr. married his second wife, Carolyn Janice "Jan" Bobbs, in 1999, after his first wife died.
In August 2017, the couple met with Crump to create an estate plan. They wanted to make sure Jan could continue living at the Four Seasons Retirement Center in Columbus, Indiana, if her husband died before her. In January 2018, Bobbs Sr. signed a Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trust agreement.
It placed about $3 million in assets under the care of First Financial Bank, which acted as the custodian. Under the agreement, Bobbs Sr.
had the right to receive income from the trust while he was alive. After his death, the trustee had to pay Jan all the net income from the trust, along with any money from the main fund needed to cover her monthly fees at the Four Seasons community. Those fees initially stood at about $4,000 a month. The agreement also stated that any money and assets left in the trust after Jan's death would go to Bobbs Sr.'s two adult children, Beaman and Bobbs Jr.
Siblings challenge trust terms and attorney conduct
Bobbs Sr. died in May 2020. After his death, Jan suffered a fall and had to be moved to an intensive care unit at the retirement facility. As the cost of her care rose sharply, First Financial Bank approved larger monthly payments from the trust to cover her expenses. In February 2022, Beaman and Bobbs Jr. filed a lawsuit against Crump and Jan in Marion Superior Court. They argued that the irrevocable trust allowed more money to be paid to Jan than their father had intended, reducing the inheritance they would eventually receive.
The siblings accused Crump of negligence, helping to enable undue influence, and failing to meet his professional duty of care. They also claimed that Bobbs Sr. did not have the mental ability to sign an irrevocable trust in January 2018. They argued that Crump had a conflict of interest because he had represented Jan in the past. To support their claims, the siblings submitted a transcript of a secretly recorded family lunch in December 2017.
During the meal, Bobbs Sr. incorrectly told his children that the trust could be changed or cancelled and that he could take the money back at any time. Court records showed that Bobbs Jr. also told his father during the lunch that he suspected Crump had a conflict of interest. He said he had discussed his concerns with lawyers he knew.
Court applies two-year limitation period
Crump asked the court to grant summary judgment, arguing that the siblings had filed their legal malpractice lawsuit too late.
Under Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4, legal malpractice claims must be filed within two years of the date the claim begins. Under Indiana's discovery rule, the two-year period starts when a person knows, or should have known through reasonable care, that they have suffered harm because of an attorney's alleged wrongful act.
The Court of Appeals of Indiana found that the siblings knew the facts behind their claims as early as December 2017.
At that time, they discussed the trust with their father and raised concerns about Crump's role in preparing it."Plaintiffs were aware of their alleged injury no later than January 10, 2018, when Bobbs Sr. executed the QTIP Trust Agreement," Judge May wrote in the official opinion. "Because Plaintiffs did not file their complaint until February 24, 2022, more than four years later, their claim is barred by the two-year statute of limitations."
The appeals court added that even if the deadline had been paused while Bobbs Sr. was alive, the siblings still filed their lawsuit more than two years after he signed the trust documents and they first learned about its terms.
Judges Rudolph R. Pyle III and Paul D. Felix agreed with Judge May's opinion. Their decision left the trial court's ruling in favour of the estate planning lawyer unchanged. Jan Bobbs died in September 2023 while the case was still ongoing. Her estate was later named as a co-defendant before the appeals court issued its final ruling.