Mieras v. DeBona

In Mieras v. DeBona, 452 Mich 278; 550 NW2d 202 (1996), the Court carefully restricted its holding to state that identified beneficiaries of a will may sue the attorney who drafted the will for negligent breach of the standard of care owed to a third-party beneficiary. Id. at 290 (opinion by Levin, J.). The Court reasoned that the personal representative in the above situation is the client and the representative's interest is necessarily limited to the disposition of the estate. If the attorney who drafted the will negligently carried out the testator's intent and the testator's beneficiaries were subsequently harmed, the representative likely does not have an interest in who obtains the money to be distributed and thus would have no incentive to sue the attorney. Id. Accordingly, in this limited situation, the Court held the intended beneficiaries of the will must be able to maintain an action. Id.