In this case, the parties asked the Pennsylvania Superior Court to balance the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine with a trustee’s duty to inform beneficiaries regarding the trust’s administration. The Court framed the issue as follows: Whether “the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine is contrary to the law in Pennsylvania, following our Supreme Court’s plurality decision in In re Estate of McAleer (McAleer II). The Superior Court affirmed the orphans’ court decision and concluded that “a trustee is privileged from disclosing to beneficiaries or co-trustees’ opinions obtained from, and other communications with, counsel retained for the trustees’ personal protection in the course, or in anticipation, of litigation.”
