Estate planners hit with heavy fine ask high court to reconsider

COLUMBUS (AP) — Two estate planning firms slammed with a record $6.4 million fine have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider their case.

The court ruled earlier this month that American Family Prepaid Legal Corp. and Heritage Marketing and Insurance Services Inc. of Columbus illegally practiced law. The court said employees of the two companies who were not licensed as estate-planning attorneys steered senior citizens away from wills and into living trusts, using high-pressure sales tactics.

In a motion filed Monday, the firms say the court based its decision on incorrect information and handed down a fine the companies can’t pay.

The Columbus Bar Association, which had complained about the firms, calls the reconsideration request “wholly without merit.”