Court Skeptical of Lawyer’s Marriage to Elderly Client

A California appellate court has referred a lawyer to the State Bar for investigation, disturbed that she might have manipulated a now-deceased elderly client into marrying her and changing his trust documents for her benefit. At issue in the case was whether Linda Lowney's "confidential marriage" to octogenarian Thor Tollefsen was valid. Tollefsen's relatives contend that Lowney swept into Tollefsen's life, married him illegally and then induced him to give her access to an account valued at about $350,000.