Florida Supreme Court revokes Joe Boles’ law license

Historic City News was informed this afternoon that the law license of former mayor Joe Boles has been revoked in a disciplinary action that has been expected for some time.  Boles, who was first admitted in 1984, practiced elder law, estate planning, wills, trusts and probate law with his stepson, William Masson, at 19 Riberia Street in Saint Augustine.

In April of last year, Historic City News reported that Joseph Lester Boles Jr was suspended for 90 days after an investigation by The Florida Bar revealed that in several instances, Boles engaged in a conflict of interest by appointing himself as surrogate beneficiary in probate matters without advising the beneficiaries to first seek independent counsel. In that case, Case Number SC22-1628, Boles failed to make the required disclosures before having the parties sign waivers of their rights and appointing himself as backup successor trustee or personal representative in violation of Florida statutes.

In the current case, Case Number SC24-0586, Joseph Lester Boles Jr engaged in a course of conduct in which he would provide a Last Will and Testament “for FREE” to persons over the age of 65.  The new investigation revealed that Boles drafted the documents, naming himself as the personal representative or successor trustee.  This allowed Boles to potentially receive fees as part of the estate or trust.  Boles failed to follow the instructions of several testamentary documents while he served as the trustee.  In one example, Boles sold a decedent’s home to his own daughter — allegedly for lower than fair market value.

As a consequence, Boles has received disciplinary revocation of his license, which is tantamount to disbarment.  Disbarred lawyers may not re-apply for admission to The Florida Bar for five years and they must undergo a rigorous process to regain their law license – if it is regained at all.  Such lawyers are required to pass a detailed, updated background check and to retake The Florida Bar examination.

The Florida Bar is the state’s guardian for the integrity of the legal profession.  The Florida Supreme Court, The Florida Bar and its Division of Lawyer Regulation, are charged with administering a statewide disciplinary system to enforce Supreme Court rules of professional conduct for the more than 112,000 members of The Florida Bar.