Accordingly, he requested an additional amount of PHP 179,000.00, which the Heirs of Spouses Garcia agreed to provide. [4] Subsequently, the Heirs of Spouses Garcia demanded that Atty. Tabaldo provide Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) receipts as proof of payment of the estate tax. However, despite repeated follow-ups and demands, Atty. Tabaldo allegedly failed to furnish the said documents. [5] With this lack of compliance from Atty. Tabaldo, Mila personally obtained a Certificate Authorizing Registration (CAR) from the BIR. Upon doing so, she discovered that the estate tax paid by Atty. Tabaldo amounted to only PHP 23,038.41, and that certain obligations remained outstanding with BIR Trece Martires, Cavite. [6] Feeling defrauded, the Heirs of Spouses Garcia, through counsel, sent Atty. Tabaldo a letter, [7] dated July 28, 2022, demanding that he return the amount of PHP 710,963.59, representing the total sum of money he received from them, less the amount of estate tax actually paid. [8] In response, on August 8, 2022, Atty. Tabaldo sent an email [9] addressing the demand letter. He explained that the PHP 555,000.00 was intended to settle and enter into a compromise with the BIR regarding the estate tax, allegedly negotiated through his contacts in the agency. He further explained that the additional PHP 179,000.00 was requested in June 2021 when the assessment was submitted for final approval by the Revenue District Office (RDO) . [10] He also attributed delays in the processing of the transaction to the imposition of COVID-19 Alert Level 4 over the National Capital Region from December 2021 to January 2022. Moreover, he requested that he and his consultant, Mrs. Frieda Flores [11] (Mrs. Flores) , be permitted to finalize the settlement of the estate of Emiliano Parabot Garcia, the deceased son of the late Spouses Garcia, and to submit the required documents to the BIR Cavite for issuance of the CAR within 10 to 15 days. During that period, he will undertake to follow up with his BIR contact regarding the refund of unused funds and committed to personally account for the disbursed amounts to the counsel of the Heirs of Spouses Garcia and return the excess funds, with or without said refund from his BIR contact. [12] Failing to thereafter hear from Atty. Tabaldo, the Heirs of Spouses Garcia sent another demand letter to him on September 2, 2022, reiterating their call to return the amount of PHP 710,963.59. [13] In his Verified Answer, [14] dated March 17, 2023, Atty. Tabaldo admitted that he received the aforementioned amounts from the Heirs of Spouses Garcia to cover for the estimated expenses for estate taxes, facilitation fees with the BIR, and for other expenses necessary for the issuance of the CAR. He denied, however, that he refused to account for the same. He countered that he had explained to the Heirs of Spouses Garcia that the transaction with the BIR is still pending and that he be allowed to complete the transaction and account for