HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-19-08 •
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1 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: We're ready to begin.
2 This is the time and place set for a hearing on the Petition
3 for Grant of Letters and Power of Attorney filed by David
4 Hughes. The issues today are the power of attorney clause
5 and the persons entitled to letters.
6 My name is Glenda Farner-Strasbaugh. I'm the
7 Register of Wills. My first deputy, Margie Wevodau, and my
8 solicitor, Kirk Sohonage, will be advising me on legal
9 issues that may arise during these proceedings. The
10 decision rendered this afternoon will be mine, so we will
11 swear in all witnesses. Margie.
12 (Whereupon, all witnesses were sworn.)
13 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Could you both
14 identify yourself and your witnesses, please?
15 MR. O'TOOLE: Shaun O'Toole. My witness is
16 David Hughes, brother of the decedent.
17 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Sir?
18 MR. TURNER: James Turner, and I have Roxie
19 Hughes, his widow.
20 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Mr. O'Toole, are you
21 ready to proceed?
22 MR. O'TOOLE: Yes.
23 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: You want to call your
24 first witness?
25 MR. O'TOOLE: David, you can take the stand.
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1 Whereupon,
2 DAVID HUGHES
3 having been previously sworn, testified as follows:
4 DIRECT EXAMINATION
5 BY MR. O'TOOLE:
6 Q Will you state your name, please.
7 A David Hughes.
g Q And, Mr. Hughes, what is the relationship to
9 the decedent, Gerald Hughes?
10 A Brother.
11 Q Can you describe the final three months of
12 your brother's life for us?
13 A The last three months of his life he spent
14 going in and out of, first, Holy Spirit Hospital, then
15 convalescing at his companion's, Barbara Elting's, then
16 going to Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon for about a
17 month, then to Mountain View Manor in Shamokin, and from
18 there to Geisinger Medical Center in mi.d-March.
19 He was -- my brother was an alcoholic. When he
20 was admitted to Holy Spirit, they basically said don't drink
21 and released him. He then went to -- when he went to Good
22 Samaritan, they did more thorough tests. They gave him
23 several different cocktails of antibiotics thinking that he
24 could recover.
25 From there they discharged him to a convalescent
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1 home in Mountain View Manor where the situation got worse
2 instead of better, and, you know, my brother passed shortly
3 thereafter on March 26th.
4 Q Can you describe his family situation at the
5 time?
6 A His family situation at the time was his
7 companion who had spent the last year and a half with him,
8 Barbara Elting, was more or less taking care of him, taking
9 care of his physical needs.
10 I, in some cases, took him to doctor's
11 appointments. In addition to -- the last one I remember was
12 back in January, I took him to the Harrisburg Hospital for
13 tests on his lungs.
14 I was met there by his ex-wife, Ann Hughes. She
15 was involved. At no time did we think that Jerry was going
16 to die. We all just knew that he needed to stop this
17 behavior.
18 As far as I know about his family life, he was
19 estranged from his daughter and he was estranged from Roxie
20 since, according to the information I have, late '04 or
21 definitely by a letter here that says ghat in May of '05.
22 So they've been apart, not co-habitatirig, for at least three
23 years.
24 At no time during that time did he ask me to call
25 her. He had a cell phone with him in the hospital in
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addition to the telephone provided in his room at the
hospital.
MR. SOHONAGE: Mr. O'Toole, your client
referenced a letter. Is that something you intended to
introduce?
MR. O'TOOLE: I can, yes.
MR. SOHONAGE: If you have something
available, I understand, and I apologize, counsel, I'm not
trying to lead the witness, but I think this is something
that this Court needs to take a look at just to make a
determination. Our evidentiary standards are a little more
relaxed obviously than the Court.
MR. O'TOOLE: In light of the fact that the
evidentiary standards are lax, I wasn't prepared to enter it
into the record or anything.
THE WITNESS: I have the original, if I could
have that back.
that?
MR. SOHONAGE: All right.. Could you identify
BY MR. O'TOOLE:
Q Can you identify what I'm handing you right
now?
A This is a copy I made of the letter that
Roxie wrote to my mother on May 16th of '05 where she says
she had to leave because she had to choose between my
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1 brother and her children.
2 Q And I guess she was leaving your brother?
3 A Again, I'm not saying, you know, that my
4 brother's alcoholism wasn't the cause of -- I don't know
5 what the cause of her leaving was. All I know is -- from
6 other people that I've talked to -- that my brother had
7 apparently a string of women and that since late '04, early
8 '05 these two did not co-habitate based. on she couldn't put
9 up with him I guess. I don't know.
10 Q All right. You mentioned Ann Hughes being an
11 ex-wife?
12 A Ann Hughes was at the Harrisburg Hospital the
13 last time I took Jerry in for testing there. She just met
14 us there, wanted to see how he was doing, and I, you know,
15 brought him down to the front of the hospital so I could get
16 him in the car and take him back to Mechanicsburg where he
17 lived.
18 Q Were there any other ex-wives?
19 A Barbara. She came to Geisinger to visit a
20 couple days before Jerry passed away along with his
21 daughter, Monica.
22 Q So Barbara -- not Barbara Elting?
23 A No, Barbara Elting is the woman my brother
24 was seeing for the last year and a half. Barbara -- I don't
25 know what her married name is now. Barbara Hughes was his
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1 first wife and the mother of his daughter, Monica.
2 Q All right. When did Roxie Hughes first come
3 to the hospital to visit?
4 A Well, Jerry passed on the 26th, which was a
5 Wednesday. I believe I called Roxie over the weekend prior
6 to that, which would have been like Saturday. Barbara had
7 -- Barbara Elting had spent most of the time with Jerry.
8 I didn't specifically have Roxie's number, but I
9 found a sheet of paper when I was cleaning his apartment out
10 that had several numbers on it. I tried to contact her. I
11 eventually contacted a mutual friend, Marty.
12 Marty, I guess, called her. Roxie got in touch
13 with me, and I told her about Barbara being at the hospital
14 and asked her not to visit until Sunday, the Sunday prior to
15 my brother's death.
16 She and her daughters came Sunday afternoon. That
17 would have been the 23rd, I believe, of March, and she
18 pretty much stayed then until the morning of the 26th, and
19 he died that afternoon.
20 Q And to the best of your knowledge that's the
21 first known time she came to visit him during this three,
22 four month period that he was hospitalized?
23 A That's the only time that I know of. Like T
24 said, I'm not -- I don't want to say anything out of line,
25 but he had plenty of opportunity to contact her. He could
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1 have asked any one of us to contact her., and his answer to
2 that was no. So as a courtesy I called her. He could have
3 passed, and she would have never known.
4 Q All right. I'm handing you the Power of
5 Attorney that has been entered into the Recorder of Wills,
6 Register of Wills, as your brother's Last Will and
7 Testament. Could you please read for us word for word the
8 writing on the handwritten note on Page 4?
9 A In the event of my death this Power of
10 Attorney shall remain in effect until such time as David R.
11 Hughes can settle my estate.
12 Q When was this document prepared?
13 A It was prepared on the 7th of March, I
14 believe. I would have to look. That's where the -- we had
15 to bring a notary in to Holy Spirit because they don't allow
16 any of their employees to be witnesses, so I had to find a
17 notary in Lebanon who would come after hours.
18 So this was his request, and fortunately by this
19 time he had been sober for more than a month, so at least
20 the last sixty days of my brother's life he was able to make
21 better decisions for himself.
22 Q That's a Power of Attorney document whereby
23 he designates you as his agent. Is that correct?
24 A That's correct.
25 Q And from what you're reading, six, seven
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1 blank lines that's just left there on the form that you had
2 prepared for him. Is that correct?
3 A Well, it's not so much as there are blank
4 lines, on th e following lines you may gave special
5 instructions limiting or extending the powers granted to
6 your agent.
7 Q Okay.
8 A So that's what it says right there in the
9 event of my death.
10 Q And Jerry took it upon himself to give that
11 instruction. Is that correct?
12 A That's what he wanted, yes.
13 Q And the document is signed at the end. Is
14 that correct ?
15 A That's correct, yes.
16 Q And who witnessed the document?
17 A The one witness because :she was there was
18 Barbara Elti ng, his significant other. The other witness
19 was a Lisa A dams, who is a friend. Like I said, you
20 couldn't use any hospital employees. `That's a rule at Good
21 Samaritan Ho spital.
22 Q And so it was your brother's desire upon his
23 death you wo uld handle his affairs. Is that correct?
24 A That's correct.
25 MR. O'TOOLE: All right. I have no further
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1 questions.
2 MR. SOHONAGE: Thank you. Mr. Turner, do you
3 have any quest ions of this witness?
4 CROSS-EXAMINATION
5 BY MR. TURNER:
6 Q Who was it who prepared this document, this
7 Power of Attor ney?
8 A It's a standard form printed out from, you
9 know, I don't know what the website is off the top of my
10 head, but it w as printed out from a website that my son
11 advised me to go to. He's an attorney.
12 Q So you printed it out?
13 A Yes, I did.
14 Q And who wrote the in the' event of my death
15 words on this form?
16 A I did.
17 Q It was not written by your brother?
18 A My brother was barely capable of signing.
19 He's a physica lly weak guy.
20 Q And he did not initial that in any way?
21 A No, he did not.
22 Q Now, Lisa Adams, who is a witness, you said
23 that she was a friend. Is she a friend of Barbara Elting?
24 A She is a co-worker of Barbara Elting, yes.
25 Q And who's Michael Szollose, the notary?
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1 A I have no idea. The hospital gave me the
2 name of two or three notaries, and I believe my brother's
3 social worker called he and another notary, and he was the
4 one who was able to come after 5:00 because that's when
5 these ladies could come and witness it.
6 Q And do you know where he's located?
7 A He's located somewhere i_n Lebanon. I'm sure
8 we could go to a Lebanon phone book and look it up. I never
9 met the man before nor since.
10 Q The signature that appears at the bottom of
1.1 the notary form is your brother's signature?
12 A Weak, but my brother's `signature was
13 witnessed by the notary.
14 Q You indicated that your brother was estranged
15 from his daughter. Did you make any effort to notify the
16 daughter during that three month period. that her father was
17 seriously ill?
18 A He didn't request her presence any more than
19 he requested his estranged wife's.
20 Q Now, would you answer my question?
21 A I did.
22 Q My question was, Did you make any effort to
23 notify his daughter during this three month period that her
24 father was seriously ill?
25 A My effort to notify his daughter was the
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1 Sunday that Roxie showed up with her kids, I asked her if
2 she had a number for Monica. She said no but she would be
3 happy to look it up or search the web when she got home that
4 day.
5 Q So prior to that final three month period,
6 you had made no effort to notify his daughter about his
7 condition?
g A No.
9 Q I would like to direct your attention to the
10 Petition for Grant of Letters which you filed with the court
11 here in Cumbe rland County. Do you recall -- well, who
12 prepared this form?
13 A My attorney.
14 Q All right. And did you provide him
15 information f or completing that form?
16 A No.
17 Q Did you sign the form?
18 A I signed the form when T_ got here, yes.
19 Q And did you review it before you signed it?
20 A The only thing I reviewed before I signed it
21 was the fact that Monica Hons's name was on there, and I was
22 wondering how that got there.
23 Q Well, her name is not on the petition. Is
24 that correct?
25 A This is the citation that was issued by the
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1 Court afterward, but you wondered how Monica Hons's name got
2 on the citation. Is that correct? This is the actual
3 Petition for Grant of Letters. Is that your signature on
4 that?
5 A I wondered how Monica's name did get on that
6 letter.
7 Q All right. And is that your signature on the
8 petition?
9 A Yes, it is.
10 Q I would like to direct your attention to
11 Paragraph B of that where it says Grant of Letters. Would
12 you read what information is requested there?
13 MR. SOHONAGE: Mr. Turner, if I may, it
14 appears to me that Box A is checked. Box B I don't think is
15 relevant. I understand where you're goring. I'm not trying
16 to preclude you, but we have this document as part of the
17 record.
18 BY MR. TURNER:
19 Q So it's your position th<~t the document
20 that's labeled Power of Attorney constil~uted his Will?
21 A You know, at the time this was in case.
22 Maybe. We were not thinking on March 7th that my brother
23 was going to die. We were hopeful that with the little bit
24 of liver function he had left that the medicine that he
25 would get at Good Samaritan could save his life if he didn't
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1 drink again, and that's what the doctors told us.
2 He needed someone -- at the same time this was all
3 going on, we were making plans to move ]Zim up to Shamokin
4 where he would be close to his family. He wasn't being
5 taken care of in Mechanicsburg, so his <~partment was being
6 emptied. I was doing a lot of things at one time. No one
7 else was helping.
8 Q Did you tell any of his friends other than
9 this Barbara where he was or what his condition was?
10 A Yes, I told the very same guy who called
11 Roxie, Marty, the only friend of his from this area I really
12 knew.
13 Q And that was several months after all this
14 began. Is that correct?
15 A You have to understand I didn't socialize
16 with my brother. I'm twenty years sober. He's -- he was an
17 active alcoholic. But did I take him to the doctor? Did I
18 take him to the hospital? Yes. I did those things.
19 Q So when you say you didn't socialize with
20 him, you testified that based on that letter which you
21 presented here, that based on that you assumed that they
22 were separated as of May of '05 but you really have no way
23 of knowing whether that was, in fact, the case or not. Is
24 that. true?
25 A Yes, I do. Barbara -- like I said, Barbara
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1 Elting has been with him for the last year and a half for
2 every weekend. I saw them together at a family wedding in
3 November.
4 I would visit Jerry in the morning when I went to
5 Fry Communications, part of my job with the Unisource
6 Corporation. I didn't do it often, but= I did it often
7 enough to know there was no one's stuff. in his house but his
8 own. His only message to me about Rox was not to trust her.
9 Q So he wasn't co-habitating with Ms. Elting?
10 A He was co-habitating al7_ weekend and
11 Wednesdays when she could get away from work.
12 Q Did you, in fact, tell t;he hospital up at
13 Geisinger that his marital status was divorced when he was
14 admitted?
1.5 A No, I did not. No, I di_d not. Estranged.
16 Q They would not have received this information
17 from you?
18 A No, they did not.
19 Q Was he communicating at that time?
20 A Absolutely. Roxie can testify to that.
21 Well, you can shake your head, but there were -- the same
22 Marty guy and another guy came in while they were there. He
23 was whispering quietly. He wasn't talking in a loud, firm
24 voice, but when he got there, they communicated. When she
25 got there, she communicated with him and so did her
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1 daughters.
2 MR. TURNER: I don't have any other
3 questions.
4 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Thank you, Mr.
5 Turner. Mr. O'Toole, do you have any follow up questions?
6 MR. O'TOOLE: Just one real quick.
~ REDIRECT EXAMINATION
8 BY MR. O'TOOLE:
g Q Mr. Hughes, I'm showing you a document
10 labeled renunciation. Could you please just read the one
11 paragraph there real short?
12 A The undersigned, Monica Hons, daughter of the
13 above Decedent, hereby renounces the right to administer the
14 estate and respectfully requests that letters testamentary
15 or of administration be issued to the Decedent's brother,
16 David R. Hughes, 23rd. of April, and she signs it Monica
17 Hughes because she doesn't use the Hons name.
1g Q I didn't know that. It was just signed
19 yesterday. I was going to file it on the way out of court
20 today. Can you describe how this document was prepared and
21 executed by --
22 A My attorney sent. me the renunciation
23 document. Monica contacted me some time ago, said that she
24 never put he r_ name on this thing and di_dn't want to be a
25 part of it and asked me to represent her here. So she and I
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went to a district magistrate yesterday. She signed it and
gave it to me to bring here today.
Q What do you mean she didn't put her name on
this thing?
A Well, her name is listed as Hons by someone
other than her. She goes by Monica Hughes.
Q All right. In essence you're saying she
didn't want to be a part of the --
A Well, in essence I'm saying her name appeared
on there from someone other than her or me.
MR. O'TOOLE: I have no further questions.
MS. FARMER-STRASBAUGH: Thank you. Mr.
Turner, any follow up?
MR. TURNER: No.
MS. FARMER-STRASBAUGH: Mr. O'Toole, you have
two exhibits you presented to this Court, the first being
the letter. Is that something you desire to enter into
evidence?
MR. O'TOOLE: Yes, it is.
MS. FARMER-STRASBAUGH: 4n1e'll have that
marked as Petitioner's Exhibit No. 1. Mr. Turner, any
objection to the letter?
MR. TURNER: No.
MS. FARMER-STRASBAUGH: I have one question.
Is there a complete letter?
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1 THE WITNESS: It's a card. It's, you know,
2 the rest of the card. It's simply whatever the manufacturer
3 of the card wrote as sentiment.
4 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: But there's no
5 writing inside the card?
6 MR, TURNER: We should see the original. I
7 think that would be appropriate.
8 THE WITNESS: Want me to get that?
9 MS, FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Please do so Mr,
10 Turner can take a look at it.
11 MR. O'TOOLE: I'll show it to Mr. Turner
12 first.
13 THE WITNESS: I mean this is just something
14 my mother saved. She saves everything.
15 MR. O'TOOLE: I move for the entry of the
16 renunciation as well and ask that it be filed with the
17 register.
18 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: The renunciation
19 we're going to make the original part of the estate record,
20 but we'll make a copy for this record as well. Mr. Turner,
21 do you have any objection after reviewing the actual card?
22 Any objection to that copy coming into evidence?
23 MR. TURNER: No.
24 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Okay. With regard to
25 the renunciation, do you have any objection?
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1 MR. TURNER: No. It is what it is.
2 MS. EARNER-STRASBAUGH: Thank you. Those
3 will be made part of record, Mr. O'Toole. Mr. Hughes, we do
4 have some questions of you, if you don't mind, at this
5 point.
6 BY MR. SOHONAGE:
7 Q Just a couple questions. The daughter's age
8 that you've referred to who actually signed the
9 renunciation. How old is she?
10 A Twenty-five.
11 Q She's twenty-five. Okay. You made -- well,
12 strike that. Actually, Shirley Hughes, who is Shirley
13 Hughes?
14 A My mother.
15 Q That's your mother. Now, you made reference
16 to the fact that you were hoping to get your brother well
17 enough to return to Shamokin so he would have family to take
18 care of him. What family are we talking about in Shamokin?
19 A In Shamokin, in addition to the fact that I
20 lived within thirty miles of where I wanted to put him, my
21 mom and dad both live there, my aunt, several cousins. As a
22 matter of fact, one of my cousins, Kathy Finella is a nurse
23 and part of the group that was taking care of him at
24 Mountain View Manor.
25 So we actually had family, you know, that worked
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1 at the facility. And, you know, he would have had a much
2 better chance of someone who would have been monitoring him
3 full-time there.
4 Q Let me ask you. The residency that's cited
5 here in Mechanicsburg, 309 East Main Street?
6 A Right.
7 Q Talk to me about what that was. Was that a
8 home?
g A That was an apartment, first floor apartment
10 in Mechanicsburg. Jerry signed a lease on that in October
11 of '05, and that's where he's been until his, you know,
12 until his death.
13 Q So that was his permanent residence although
14 the last few months you told us he was in and out of
15 facilities?
16 A That's correct.
17 Q That's where all his effects were?
lg A That is correct.
19 MR. SOHONAGE: That's all I have, Mr. Hughes.
20 MS. EARNER-STRASBAUGH: Mr. O'Toole, Mr.
21 Turner, any follow up based upon any questions?
22 MR. O'TOOLE: No.
23 MR. TURNER: No.
24 MS. EARNER-STRASBAUGH: '.Thank you, sir. You
25 can be excused.
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1 MR. O'TOOLE: And I have no further
2 witnesses.
3 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Very well. Before we
4 get -- I guess there's components to this, and maybe you can
5 address this first component or issue, Mr. O'Toole.
6 Do you have any case law, any supportive position
7 that this Power of Attorney document and the powers
8 addressed in the same did not cease at the time of death?
9 Do you understand what I'm asking?
10 MR. O'TOOLE: Yes.
11 MR. SOHONAGE: What position are you taking
12 with regard to why these powers didn't end when he passed
13 away?
14 MR. O'TOOLE: Well, first of all, initially
15 the language on the document. In the event of my death
16 this Power of Attorney shall remain in effect until such
17 time as David can settle my estate. I guess it's the last
18 four words of that paragraph.
19 I also have case law here whe-re it was a power of
20 attorney which again had no provisions f_or disposition of
21 assets. It was just -- I appoint two people to sell a piece
22 of property where the Court held that even though it was a
23 Power of Attorney and didn't have any provisions regarding
24 the disposition of assets, which is typically what a Will
25 has, they ruled that the Court -- the Court ruled it as a
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1 testamentary document and a Will.
2 MR. SOHONAGE: What's the cite on that case,
3 Mr. O'Toole?
4 MR. O'TOOLE: 30 Pennsylvania 225, an 1858
5 case, but then a more recent case which just stands for the
6 general proposition that any writing may not assume any
7 particular form or be couched in language technically
8 appropriate to its testamentary character to take effect as
9 a will or codicil. If the instrument i_s in writing and
10 signed by the decedent at the end thereof and is an
11 otherwise legal declaration of his intention which he wills
12 to be performed at his death, it must be given the effect of
13 a will or codicil.
14 And to -- I think again I go back to the beginning
15 language of that paragraph, in the event of my death. I
16 think it's pretty clear that was intended -- that this is a
17 document intended to take effect upon his death.
18 MR. SOHONAGE: Okay. Let me ask you, were
19 you involved in drafting this?
20 THE WITNESS: I would have to look it up.
21 It's still on my -- you know, it's a website. My son is an
22 attorney, and he said go to this website. You can download
23 -- it's a general power of attorney form. I downloaded it
24 for like $10.00 there.
25 MR. SOHONAGE: Is this Robert Shapiro's?
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1 THE WITNESS: It was not Robert Shapiro's
2 website, but I did think of that.
3 MR. SOHONAGE: The reason I'm asking, was
4 there a discussion that you would also draft a Will to
5 present, but it was your belief that this was going to cover
6 everything?
7 THE WITNESS: At the time this was drafted,
8 we were all very -- on March 7th we were all very hopeful
9 that my brother would recover, but we had been presented
10 with the definite possibility. The doctors at that time
11 were saying could be two months, could be a year if he
12 didn't take care of himself, so --
13 MR. SOHONAGE: So there was no definite
14 discussion about a Will or doing anything like that?
15 THE WITNESS: No.
16 MR. SOHONAGE: That's all I have.
17 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Mr. Turner, do you
18 have any follow up on our --
19 MR. TURNER: If I can address that issue.
20 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Certainly.
21 MR. TURNER: This document is a Power of
22 Attorney. It's not a Will. It's not labeled as a Will. If
23 you want to try and construe this paragraph that was
24 handwritten as not part of the original document to be a
25 Will., it's a separate document and it is not executed. It
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1 is not signed.
2 The Power of Attorney is signed, but his signature
3 nowhere appears on the page where this alleged Will appears
4 nor is there any indication that he approved it. He didn't
5 even initial it. So there's no evidence that he was even
6 aware it was there.
~ The person who -- it's not in his handwriting.
8 It's in the handwriting of the person who's using it to
9 establish his authority, so for that reason it doesn't
10 constitute a Will because it is not executed. The Power of
11 Attorney is executed.
12 MR. SOHONAGE: Very well. Thank you.
13 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Mr. O'Toole, you've
14 indicated you have no other witnesses or testimony to
15 present. Is that correct?
16 MR. O'TOOLE: I would like to respond to Mr.
17 Turner's comment.
1g MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Certainly.
19 MR. O'TOOLE: I'm citing the case In Re:
20 Covington Estate, 33 Atlantic Second 23'x. In order for
21 probate as a will of separate, not physically united, sheets
22 of paper, only the last one of which is signed, it is not
23 necessary that separate sheets be verbally united by
24 completion on successive pages of a sent=ence or paragraph
25 begun the preceding page. So if the document is signed at
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the end, that's -- our opinion is that's sufficient.
MS. EARNER-STRASBAUGH: Very well. Thank
you. Are you done with your presentation?
MR. O'TOOLE: I`m done now.
MS. EARNER-STRASBAUGH: Mr. Turner, there's a
separate aspect of this case. There's two we're looking at.
Obviously the Power of Attorney issue and then with regard
to letters of administration, if we go down that road.
That's something your client is desirous of obtaining at
this point. Is that correct?
MR. TURNER: That's correct.
MS. EARNER-STRASBAUGH: Do you have any
testimony or evidence to present on this matter?
MR. TURNER: Yes. Call Roxie Hughes.
Whereupon,
ROXIE HUGHES
having been previously sworn, testified as follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. TURNER:
Q Would you state your name and address?
A Roxie Hughes, 601 Woods Road, Liverpool,
Pennsylvania.
Q And what was your relationship to the
deceased, Gerald Hughes?
A I was his wife.
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1 Q And when were you married?
2 A March 15th, 2003.
3 Q Had you been with him in a relationship prior
4 to 2003?
5 A Since March 17th, 1999.
6 Q And, in fact, had you been residing together
7 prior to your marriage in 2003?
8 A Yes, we were.
9 Q And when did you start residing together?
10 A In 2000.
11 Q There's been reference today to a letter that
12 was dated in May of 2005. What was your relationship with
13 the deceased in May of 2005?
14 A We had an apartment together in Mount
15 Pleasant Mill s, and we lived together in Mount Pleasant
16 Mills, Pennsylvania.
17 Q Were you, in fact, living together for a
18 number of mon ths after May of 2005?
19 A Yes.
20 Q When did you stop living together?
21 A In October of 2005.
22 Q And what were the circumstances of that
23 separation?
24 A We had sold the house that we had here on
25 Cumberland Road in Camp Hill, and Jerry had taken up an
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apartment in Mechanicsburg so he could get to rehab and to
the doctor. I had driving issues. He had no driver's
license. He would walk. He would get a cab. It was easier
for him to be here than to be in Liverpool.
Q And what was the rehab that he was
participating in at that time?
A Alcohol. He was going to Gaudenzia.
Q So at that time did you make a determination
to continue residing in Liverpool?
A Yes.
Q Were you having health problems of your own
at that time?
A Absolutely.
Q And who were you residing in Liverpool with?
A My son.
Q And what was the reason that you were living
there?
A I was having help going back and forth to the
doctor as I had back surgery that had gone bad. I had --
was seeing a psychologist for anxiety issues, and I had a
seizure disorder.
Q At the time that you and. Gerald stopped
living together, did you end your relationship with him at
that time?
A No.
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1 Q What was the nature of your relationship from
2 that time?
3 A We spoke almost every day on the phone. We
4 -- I came down here whenever he had a doctor's appointment.
5 My children would bring me to Jerry's house, and if I was
6 driving on my own, I would stop in to Jerry's house and we
7 would spend time together.
8 Q And did that continue on for a period of
9 time?
10 A The last time I was down was January of '08.
11 Q And after the time -- the last time that you
12 were down in January of 2008, did you continue making
13 efforts to talk to him and to maintain a relationship with
14 him?
15 A Yes, the last phone convf=rsation I had with
16 him was February 7th.
17 Q And what happened after February 7th of 2008?
18 A I tried to call him on h:is birthday, and he
19 didn't answer the phone. I tried to call him on Valentine's
20 Day. He didn't answer the phone. I kept trying. The phone
21 was not -- it rang. There was no answering machine there,
22 but he didn't pick up.
23 I then talked to my friend, Marty, who was a
24 friend of Jerry's also, and he knew he had left Holy Spirit
25 Hospital but he could not find him after. that either. When
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1 he found him was the day that we knew that he was in
2 Geisinger, which was in March.
3 Q So during that month and a half period or so,
4 you did not know where he was?
5 A No.
6 Q Did anyone contact you to let you know where
7 he was?
g A No.
g Q And his -- this Marty who was his best friend
10 did not know where he was also. Is that correct?
11 A That's correct.
12 Q Once you found out where your husband was and
13 what his condition was, what efforts did you take at that
14 time to see him?
15 A My daughters and I went to the hospital.
16 Q And how long a period of time did you spend
17 with him?
18 A We went up to -- we were notified on Friday
19 night when I called David, and I went up Saturday morning.
20 I stayed there until after lunchtime Saturday sometime, and
21 my daughters were with me. We all drove in the same car.
22 They came back home and then David asked that I
23 not come up on Easter Sunday, so I didn't. I came back up
24 on Monday, and I stayed with him until Wednesday. I had a
25 doctor's appointment within the hospital. I went to that
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1 and. came back, checked on Jerry, and then I came home.
2 I went down to my son's, to our house, to take a
3 shower, wash my hair, because I had been at the hospital the
4 whole time, and it was during that time, on my way, I was on
5 the highway returning to the hospital when I found out that
6 he had passed.
~ Q During that period of time you said David had
8 indicated to you that he did not want you to be there on
9 that particular Sunday, and, in general, what was his
10 attitude toward you and toward your presence?
11 A He was -- I mean he was very business, and I
12 think that's David's nature.
13 Q Were you and your husband -- were you in the
14 midst of a divorce proceeding at the time?
15 A Not at all. No, we had spoke about that and
16 we decided that neither one of us wanted a divorce for any
17 reason. We had personal reasons for wanting to stay
18 married. His might have been out of one reason, mine was
19 because I still loved him and at one point thought maybe
20 there would be a day when he would be totally sober and not
21 seeing other women.
22 Q Had you ever instituted divorce proceedings
23 against him?
24 A Never.
25 MR. TURNER: No other questions.
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1 MS. EARNER-STRASBAUGH: Thank you, Mr.
2 Turner. Mr. O' Toole, do you have any questions?
3 MR. O'TOOLE: Yes.
4 CROSS-EXAMINATION
5 BY MR. O'TOOLE:
6 Q When you stated you went: to Liverpool and
7 David stayed, or, I'm sorry, Jerry stayed here in
8 Mechanicsburg - -
9 A Um-hum.
10 Q -- the care he was receiving was outpatient,
11 was it not?
12 A The care he was receiving for his alcoholism
13 was outpatient, yes.
14 Q He came and went daily?
15 A Yes.
16 Q He was not admitted to a facility?
17 A No.
18 Q All right. You said for the last. month and a
19 half of his lif e you were unable to contact him until a few
20 days before his passing?
21 A Right.
22 Q When you went to find him, did you contact
23 his employer to find out where he was?
24 A He didn't have an employer.
25 Q How is your health care being paid?
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1 A Retirement.
2 Q Did you contact his landlord?
3 A No.
q Q Did you contact his parents?
5 A No.
6 Q Did you contact his daughter?
~ A No, I did not. It was normal for Jerry to be
8 missing for a short time, but this was longer than usual.
g Q Okay, I asked how the insurance was being
10 paid. Your health insurance was being paid by Jerry's --
11 basically Jerry's retirement. Is that correct?
12 A That's correct.
13 Q So probably one of your insistencies for not
14 divorcing?
15 A No, I had medical insurance of my own also.
16 Q All right. And during that period of time
17 Jerry never called you. Is that right?
18 A February 7th.
19 Q February 7th on?
20 A No.
21 MR. O'TOOLE: All right. No further
22 questions.
23 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Thank you. Mr.
24 Turner, any follow-up?
25 MR. TURNER: No. Nothing further.
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I MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Okay.
2 MR. SOHONAGE: Just a couple of questions,
3 Ms. Hughes.
4 BY MR. SOHONAGE:
5 Q When you and the decedent separated back in
6 2005, the reas on for the separation was what?
7 A Jerry had an alcohol problem. He was seeking
8 care for it do wn here. I had disability problems, and my
9 children were helping me up there get better. There was a
10 lot of things I couldn't do. I helped him move into the
11 apartment in M echanicsburg.
12 Q Now, the letter that has been introduced into
13 evidence, that 's something that you did, in fact, write to
14 his parents. Is that correct?
15 A Yes, we still were living together after
16 that. I think a lot of people write things sometimes that
17 ar_e -- I don't think -- they write things out of feelings.
18 Q Okay. I understand.
19 A There was a reason. I went to the lake right
20 after that, an d I stayed with my sister for a week or two.
21 Q I mean your relationship was rocky?
2?_ A Absolutely it was. Barbara did not come into
23 the picture in the last year and a half, if that makes any
24 difference. I knew about her since 2000. In fact, we found
25 out that he wa s seeing her the year before I got married, so
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I knew that there was another woman in the picture.
Q And you think you should be entitled to
letters because you're the wife. Is that correct?
A That's correct. There are some things that I
would need them for.
MR. SOHONAGE: That's al_1 I have.
MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Mr. O'Toole and Mr.
Turner, maybe you can address this issue. Certainly it's
just a question in our minds. There a~>pears to be at least
no value of the estate on the petition, so the question in
our head was with the estate being opened, is there a policy
out there that needs to be addressed for medical assistance
or insurance?
MR. O'TOOLE: The only probate asset upon the
passing of the decedent -- basically there's next to nothing
in his checking account. A day or two later there was a
pension distribution of $2,500.00 that was deposited, the
check. That has since been paid to the funeral home under
the provision of law that allows the funeral home to take
that.
There is virtually no other probate assets. There
is a matter of just wanting to clean u~> his affairs
properly. I think there is a death benefit with his
employer, but it's a non-probate asset, which that doesn't
-- isn't affected by this.
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1 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: Now, there was
2 testimony about health insurance being paid for out of his
3 retirement. For whom did he work? Did he obtain his --
4 MR. HUGHES: He worked for the State as a
5 guard at Camp Hill.
6 MS. FARNER-STRASBAUGH: He was a prison
7 guard?
8 MR. HUGHES: He retired four, five years ago
9 at age 45 because of his alcohol -- directly because of his
10 alcohol problems. He was fortunate that they retired him
11 and didn't fire him.
12 MR. SOHONAGE: I understand. Gentlemen, Ms.
13 Hughes, thank you for your time. At this point we are going
14 to consider obviously what's been presented to us. I would
15 give you the opportunity to make a statement, but I think
16 we've sort of flushed things out as we talked.
17 We will issue a written decision on this within
18 thirty days. Mr. O'Toole, your documents will be made part
19 of the record. The original will be part of the estate file
20 for your second exhibit, and we, as I said, will get
21 something out within thirty days.
22 MR. O'TOOLE: Thank you.
23 MR. TURNER: Thank you.
24 (Whereupon, the above proceeding was
25 concluded.)
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CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the proceedings are
contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on
the above cause and that this is a correct transcript of
the same.
~ ~', a nG~I~
Laura F. Handley
Official Court= Reporter