Bill
HB 5365
The bill ensures attorney–client communications involving trustees or fiduciaries are privileged like individual clients, with limited automatic waivers and shared-privilege option
Status: Signed by Governor (06/13/2025). Effective upon passage.
Short purpose
- HB 5365 adds a new statutory rule (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 18-1, § 18-1-5) clarifying that communications between an attorney and a client who is acting as a trustee or other fiduciary are protected by the attorney–client privilege to the same extent as if the client were acting in a purely individual capacity.
Key provisions (section 18-1-5)
- Privilege equivalence: Attorney–client communications involving a trustee or other fiduciary are privileged and protected from disclosure on the same basis as communications with a client acting in an individual capacity.
- No automatic waiver in two circumstances:
- A fiduciary relationship between the trustee/fiduciary and a beneficiary does not waive the privilege.
- Use of trust property to pay an attorney for legal services to the trustee/fiduciary does not waive the privilege.
- Successor fiduciaries: If an attorney’s client is the person who served as trustee/fiduciary, a successor trustee/fiduciary is not automatically the attorney’s client solely by reason of succession.
- Shared-privilege agreements: A trustee (or fiduciary) and a successor may agree to share privileged communications concerning some or all trust matters; disclosure under that agreement does not waive privilege. Unless the agreement says otherwise, privileged communications shared under the agreement may not be disclosed to third parties without the disclosing party’s consent or a court order.
- Preserved exceptions: The section does not alter existing law governing recognized exceptions to the attorney–client privilege (including, specifically, exceptions that apply to claimants through the same deceased).
Who is affected
- Trustees and other fiduciaries, successor trustees/fiduciaries, trust beneficiaries, and attorneys who represent trustees/fiduciaries.
- Trust administration and trust-related litigation, particularly discovery practice in disputes involving trusts.
Procedural history & effective date (highlights)
- Introduced and heard in early 2025; passed House (05/27/2025); Senate concurrence (06/10/2025); transmitted to Governor (06/10/2025); signed by Governor (06/13/2025). The act takes effect upon passage.
Potential impact / considerations
- Clarifies and strengthens protection of attorney–client communications in the trust context and reduces grounds for discovery of trustee-attorney communications based on fiduciary relationships or payment with trust funds.
- May affect beneficiaries’ access to certain communications and could increase the need for court orders or consent to disclose privileged materials in trust disputes.
- Preserves existing statutory or common-law exceptions; users should consult counsel about how the new text interacts with those exceptions in specific cases.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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