HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-22-10I - c1 ~~ `~~ 3~ 2
April 19, 2010
Clerk of the Orphan's Court
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Cumberland County Courthouse ~C--~
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Carlisle, PA 17013 ~;'=~~, ~ -
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RE: Clifford and Clara E. Huzey Trust ~ `' °O ~ ` :-r
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First and Partial Account and Schedule of Proposed Distribution
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Presented for confirmation April 27, 201.0
The Honorable J. Wesley Oeler
Your Honor:
Please accept this letter as my written objection to the proposed distribution of the trust as it
pertains to my deceased husband, James F. Zeigler. My husband was named as a beneficiary of
the trust, along with his brothers John and Charles Zeigler, all nephews of Clifford Huzey.
The notification I received dated March 20, 2010 indicates that my husband is not receiving any
distribution as he died on November 6, 2009. The letter also indicated a question will be
presented to the court and the court will be asked to approve a partial distribution now to those
still Living. "Ihe g7eestiore is presented as to whether, dr~e to the age and health of the
beneficiaries and the length of time which has passed since the death of Clara H~rzey, is it
permissible to make advance distr•ibrction .... "
I respectfully as the court to consider the following information, prior to rendering a decision on
this proposed distribution:
• James F. Zeigler is a nephew of Clifford Huzey. He was first notified of this trust
resolution activity in a letter received in early May, 2009, in which he was asked to sign a
W-9 confirming his name/Social Security number, which he did.
• James was diagnosed with Cancer in August 2008 and received treatment throughout
2008. His cancer was considered in remission in December 2008, but unfortunately
returned in 2009. His cancer was considered terminal (he was age 85) a-~d he was under
the care of Hospice since July 2009, with me, his wife as his caregiver at our home. Upon
reading through the trust documents in greater detail, my husband, children and I had
questions, specifically regarding the reference to "any of the individuals become
deceased prior to the distribution..." We decided to contact the trust.
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• On July 29, 2009 our son Christopher and his wife Susan were with us. We called PNC
Bank from my son's cell phone so we could put the phone on speaker and all of us could
participate in the call, to make sure Jim and I understood. We spoke directly with Linda
Lundberg, P1~C Bank. We specifically asked about the status of the distributions and if
Mr. Zeigler needed to name any beneficiary if he should pass away prior to the
finalization. We were told:
o The trust was valued at approximately $850.000
o James' portion is estimated to be 7.143%
o PA inheritance tax is taken out first; a tax return must be filed, likely December
2009,, nine months after Clara Huzey's death
o Advanced distributions may be considered; we could call back in October, 2009
o James has a "vested interest" and this is "payable to his estate".
• Mr. Zeigler's health declined rapidly; I broke my ankle in August, 2009 and could not
care for him at home. We received care together in a nursinglrehabilitation center from
August 2009 until Jim's death in November. In October, we were focused so deeply on
our own health issues and my husband's imminent death that we did not make any further
calls in October.
• I do believe that if the statements a "vested interest"and "payable to his estate" had not
been made we would have proceeded with calls and requests for consideration of
advanced distribution.
• This proposed distribution presented for approval requests the court to now consider that
... "due to the age and health of beneficiaries........
o The majority of fiord activities outlined in this document occurred between March
2009 and June 2009, with very limited financial transactions since then.
o The majority of PA inheritance tax was paid in June 2009.
o Was the length of time it has taken to finalize this trust reasonable?
o Why wasn't the age and health of beneficiaries taken in to account prior to March
2010; the date of the filing of this petition?
My husband was close to his uncle and we were both close to Clara. We visited them in
Carlisle when we visited other family in Mt Holly Springs, over the past 15 years, and
also communicated through phone calls. Notes, birthday, and holiday cards were also
exchanged.
• I believe in my heart that Cliff and Clara. would be heartbroken, disappointed and
unhappy to learn that one of "the boys" tJohn, James, and Charles Zeigler) will not
receive the inheritance as they planned. l further believe they could not have imagined
that anyone named as a beneficiary in their trust established in 1997 would die before
they did or before the final resolution of the trust, thus not receiving any or only partial
distributions
I do give permission to Power of Attorneys, daughter Brenda Jlilfiger, or son Christopher
Zeigler, or daughter-in-law Susan Zeigler to present this letter and speak to any of its contents or
answer any questions of the Court if I am not present. I may be reached at 570-673-8634 if you
wish to speak with me.
I thank the Court for considering the information I have presented and request consideration is
given for the inclusion of my husband James. I believe the ultimate wishes of Cliff and Clara
Huzey would then be served.
Respectfully,
Ruth L. Zeigler
RR2, Box 3232
Canton, PA 17724
Sworn to and subscribed before me,
a Notary Public, this 20`~ day of
April, 2010. ~-~
Notary Pry15~c
AMY J. STONE, NOTARY PUBLIC
CANTON BORO., BRADFORD COUNTY