N.Y. CPLR § 4503

NEW YORK CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES (CPLR) New York State | For Informational Purposes Only CPLR § 4503 Attorney § 4503. Attorney. (a) 1. Confidential communication privileged.Unless the client waives the privilege, an attorney or his or heremployee, or any person who obtains without the knowledge of the clientevidence of a confidential communication made between the attorney orhis or her employee and the client in the course of professionalemployment, shall not disclose, or be allowed to disclose suchcommunication, nor shall the client be compelled to disclose suchcommunication, in any action, disciplinary trial or hearing, oradministrative action, proceeding or hearing conducted by or on behalfof any state, municipal or local governmental agency or by thelegislature or any committee or body thereof. Evidence of any suchcommunication obtained by any such person, and evidence resultingtherefrom, shall not be disclosed by any state, municipal or localgovernmental agency or by the legislature or any committee or bodythereof. The relationship of an attorney and client shall exist betweena professional service corporation organized under article fifteen ofthe business corporation law to practice as an attorney andcounselor-at-law and the clients to whom it renders legal services.2. Personal representatives. (A) For purposes of the attorney-clientprivilege, if the client is a personal representative and the attorneyrepresents the personal representative in that capacity, in the absenceof an agreement between the attorney and the personal representative tothe contrary:(i) No beneficiary of the estate is, or shall be treated as, theclient of the attorney solely by reason of his or her status asbeneficiary;(ii) The existence of a fiduciary relationship between the personalrepresentative and a beneficiary of the estate does not by itselfconstitute or giv eason of his or her status asbeneficiary;(ii) The existence of a fiduciary relationship between the personalrepresentative and a beneficiary of the estate does not by itselfconstitute or give rise to any waiver of the privilege for confidentialcommunications made in the course of professional employment between theattorney or his or her employee and the personal representative who isthe client; and(iii) The fiduciary's testimony that he or she has relied on theattorney's advice shall not by itself constitute such a waiver.(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "personal representative" shallmean (i) the administrator, administrator c.t.a., ancillaryadministrator, executor, preliminary executor, temporary administrator,lifetime trustee or trustee to whom letters have been issued within themeaning of subdivision thirty-four of section one hundred three of thesurrogate's court procedure act, and (ii) the guardian of anincapacitated communicant if and to the extent that the order appointingsuch guardian under subdivision (c) of section 81.16 of the mentalhygiene law or any subsequent order of any court expressly provides thatthe guardian is to be the personal representative of the incapacitatedcommunicant for purposes of this section; "beneficiary" shall have themeaning set forth in subdivision eight of section one hundred three ofthe surrogate's court procedure act and "estate" shall have the meaningset forth in subdivision nineteen of section one hundred three of thesurrogate's court procedure act.(b) Wills and revocable trusts. In any action involving the probate,validity or construction of a will or, after the grantor's death, arevocable trust, an attorney or his employee shall be required todisclose information as to the preparation, execution or revocation ofany will, revocable trust, or other relevant instrument, but he shallnot be allowed to disclose any communication pr d todisclose information as to the preparation, execution or revocation ofany will, revocable trust, or other relevant instrument, but he shallnot be allowed to disclose any communication privileged undersubdivision (a) which would tend to disgrace the memory of the decedent.