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Home My WebLink About12-21-11IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION IN RE: ESTATE OF MARY C. DUGAN, NO. 20.10-01018 ~o - DECEASED } ~- ;_; ~ _.._ PETITION FOR PAYMENT OF ATTORNEY FEES :<= _; . _ _-+ Ys AND NOW comes the petitioner, G. Patrick O'Connor. Esquire, and respectfully `~~ represents as follows: 1. Mary C. Dugan, Deceased (hereinafter Decedent), died ~n July 18, 2010, after having first made, published, and declared her last will and testament, dated October 2, 2003, in which she appointed Lee Phillip Stetler, as her executer (hereinafter Executor). 2. The Executor appointed G. Patrick O'Connor, Esquire, (hereinafter O'Connor) to represent the executor and the estate in regard to activities rela~:ed to the probate and settlement of the Estate of Mary C. Dugan (hereinafter Estate). A copy of the letter of agreement between the Executor and O'Connor is attached herc;to as "Exhibit A" and incorporated by reference herein. 3. O'Connor provided extensive services to the executor and to the estate and on July 22, 2011, submitted an invoice to the Executor for the amount ~f $2,475.00 for attorney time and services not covered by the initial retainer, along witl, a copy letter and an itemization of time and services rendered. Copies of these documents are attached hereto as "Exhibit B" and incorporated by reference herein. 4. The Executor failed to provide O'Connor with payment for the amount invoiced ~~ _, _ -,;. ~' --- ,T-. ;_ ~; ~_ ~; and failed to provide any explanation, ask any question, raise any objection, or to respond to subsequent requests for payment. The executor also failed t~~ answer telephone calls from O'Connor or to return those telephone calls. 5. O'Connor was subsequently sent a letter from Wayne VI. Pecht, Esquire, that stated that he would be replacing O'Connor as attorney of record, along with a Praecipe to Withdraw Appearance, which O'Connor executed on Augus : 22, 2011 and returned for filing with this court. 6. O'Connor subsequently requested payment of fees front Attorney Pecht but has received no response. WHEREFORE, the Petitioner respectfully requests that this Honorable Court order the Executor of the Estate of Mary C. Dugan, Deceased, to pay to the Petitioner the amount of $2,475.00, and to provide to the Petitioner any other relief which this Court deems to be fair and equitable. Respectfully Submitted, ',~ G. Patrick O'Connor, Esquire I.D. No. 6~I720 3105 Gettysburg Road Camp Hill, PA 17011 Telephone : 717-737-7760 DATED: December 20, 2011 G. Patrick O'Connor Attorney-At-Law 3105 OLD GETTYSBURG ROAD CAMP H{LL, PA 17011 7E LEPHO NE: 717-737-7760 Lee Phi llzp Stetler, Executor Estate of Mary C. Dugan 313 Shady Lane, Apt. C Enola, PA 17025 Deaz Mr. Stetler: September 23, 2010 This is to confirm that I ~Nill represent you, at your request, in regard to the probate and settlement of the Estate of Mary C. Dugan. As agreed, my fee will be $150.00 per hour plus out-of-pocket expenses. As agrf;ed, you will also provide me with a.n advance retainer of $1,500.00 to cover the initia110 hours of attorney time as soon as these funds become available to the estate. I will place this amount in escrow and draw upon it as needed. The hourly fee shall be applied to all activities relating to this estate, including but not exclusive to_ review of your records and files, analysis of your situation, telephone conferences, meetings, reseazch, negotiations, preparation of legal documents and letters, travel, billing and appearances in court, etc. Time will be billed for minimum 6-minute periods. Time records will be a~~ailable in my office for your revievv, should you desire to do so. At the time that my work on your behalf is completed, or my services are no longer needed, I will promptly return tc~ you any unearned funds that I am holding in your behalf. In the event that it appears that the retainer you have provided will be Insufficient to cover legal time and expenses, I reserve the right to request an additional retainer. If any invoice goes unpaid beyond one month, it is ~~greed that I reserve the right to decline further representation, at my option, and/or to charge reasonable monthly interest. I cannot tell how much tame will be required to handle this estate. I will endeavor to give you the best practical and lf;gal advice that my education and experience allows. If the above terms are agreeable to yo~~, please place your initials at the bc~ttorn of this page and return it to me. You may keep t1e other copy for your files. Client protection disclosure - hz order to protect my clients at all time, I maintain funds provided to me by clients that are subject to possible refund, in a lawyer trust account approved by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In addition, I personally maintain cash reserves in excess of $100,000 t~ cover any claims should any arise. I do not maintain separate professional liability insurance. This disclosure is to satisfy the Rules of Professional Conduct. Sincerely, ` /~ G. Patrick O'Connor EXHIBIT A G. Patrick O'Connor Attorney-At-Law 3i 05 OLD GETTYSBURG ROAD CAMP HILL, PA 17011 TELEPHONE: 717-737-7760 July 22, 2011 Lee Phillip Stetler Estate of Mary C. Dugan 313 Shady Lane, Apt. C Enola, PA 17025 INVOICE Legal services as per coni:ract re: Estate of Mary C. Dugan .................. $2,475.00 EXHIBIT B G. Patrick O'Connor Attorney-At-Law 3105 OLD GETTYSBURG ROAD CAMP HILL, PA 17011 TELEPHONE : 717- 737-7760 Email: patoconnor1000@gmail.com July 22, 2011 Lee Phillip Stetler 313 Shady Lane, Apt. C Enola, PA 17025 Dear Lee: Enclosed is a formal invoice for my services in regard to the Estatf~ of Mary C. Dugan. I provided you with an itemized list of the dates and times that I invested in the estate during our meeting on July 18th, along with a copy of the letter that I previously sent to Sharon DeBuck, with a copy to you, addressing Ms. DeBuck's concerns. `Ne discussed that letter at our meeting. As I noted at our meeting, almost all the work has been completed in regard to this estate. We discussed what needs to be done in general terms, but agreed that eve would get together soon to go over details. I advised that you should sign the federal income tax return and th;~t you should mail it immediately so that the tax refund can be received. In regard to the inheritance taxes, I advised you that the payment that I previously requested should be made to the Register of Wills, Agent, without further delay. The payment is certain to cover the tax obligation and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue will refund the amount of o~~erpayment. The payment is the most important thing. As for the inheritance tax forms themselves, my experience has been that there is no problem for an estate if the forms, themselves, if there is a valid reason, such as in this case. As a matter of fact, I believe that the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue prefers the one-time filing of the inheritance tax returns and is adverse to the filing of amended returns. In the case of this estate, completely accurate inheritance tax forms cannot be filed at this time. For one thing, the administrative expenses have not been completely determined as yet, which will affect the amount of tax owed. Based on the level of involvement by one of the heirs, I would suggest that the amount of administrative expenses cannot t>e accurately determined until the amount to be received can be agreed upon. Since you have the checkbook, we should review your expenditures before the tax forms are submitted. In addition, I mentioned the claim against the estate in the amount of $848.00, made known to me just prior to our meeting. A copy of the letter from Halifax National Bank is enclosed. If the returns had been filed previously, likely we would not have be~iefited from the deduction for that claim. I will also point out that during one of early calls from Ms. DeBuck, she insisted that the estate funds should be distributed immediately because she could assure me that no further claims would be made against the estate. Well, hers is one! How do we know that it will be the only one? I will remind you that an executor that closes out the estate early without satisfying claims against the estate can be held personally liable. Mary C. Dugan appointed you executor because she trusted you to make the decisions and to handle the money. It is not uncommon in estates for one or more heirs to think that they are better qualified and desire to take over the job. But the deceased person has the right to make that decision while still alive and Mary Dugan made her decisions. I would hope that her daughters and you would respect her wishes enough not to override them. L,et me know if you have any questions. Sincer ly, ,- ,, ~~~ ~' ~- ~~~ G. Patrick O'Connor Enclosures E Estate of Mary Dugan Page 1 18-Jul-10 0.5 Telcon w/Sharon DeBuck 15-Sep-10 0.6 Telcon w/Sharon DeBuck re: status 23-Sep-10 1.8 Review docs in file; Prep fee agreement letter 30-Sep-10 0.5 Prep for taking Lee Stetler to courthouse 1-Oct-10 0.3 Telcon w/Lee re: Arrangements re: going to courthouse, what to bring, etc. 4-Oct-11 0.4 Telcon w/Connie Stonerode re: assets (see book) 7-Oct-10 2.0 Travel to Register of Wills: Meet with Lee & get Lee sworn in as executor 11-Oct-11 1.0 Review guardianship accounting; call to Connie Stonerode & Ler> re: funeral expenses & return of VA or Social Security payments; file notes; Prep & mail notices required by Rule 5.6; Prep and mail Certification to Register of Wills; Postage $2.20 12-Oct-11 0.3 Review email from Connie Stoneroad & reply 19-Oct-10 0.9 Exchange emails w/Connie Stoneroad re: handling of funds in her account & contacting VA, SS, DFAS and Civil Service 22-Oct-10 0.4 Telcon w/Sharon DeBuck re: status, need to advertise and delay distribution, etc. 25-Oct-10 0.1 Receive & download request for return of benefits from VA Review & print email from Keystone re; social security 12-Nov-10 0.6 Prep Estate Notice; Fax to Patriot West edition; Deliver to Legal Journal $75.00 fee 19-Nov-10 0.2 Download & print Order Confirmation for Patriot-News ad Expected charge $158.03 1-Dec-10 0.1 Telcon w/Lee Stetler re: set up estate account 2-Dec-10 1.5 Office mtg w/Lee Stetler; Review case; Prep SS-4 form; Obtain EIN from IRS; Travel to Members 1st 3-Jan-11 0.8 Telcons w! Lee Stetler & Sharon DeBuck (floundersdog@gmail.c:om) 4-Jan-11 0.4 Review email from Keystone & send reply; Telcon w/Lee Stetler 6-Jan-11 0.2 Email to Melanie at Keystone re: new check & also copy of incorr a tax returns 7-Jan-11 0.4 Telcon w/Sharon DeBuck (see book) 24-Jan-10 0.3 Send check to Lee fort $13,025.06 w/cover letter Postage 44 cents 25-Feb-11 0.2 Review materials 4-Mar-11 1.0 Review & analyze tax documents sent from Keystone 9-Mar-11 0.2 Review proofs of Estate Advertising & mail check to Patriot-New: 11-Mar-11 0.1 Telcon wlLee Stetler re: filing of tax returns 18-Apr-11 0.3 Check income tax info 19-Apr-11 1.9 Review & make file notes re: correspondence &docs from Keystcme; 6-Jun-11 0.7 Review Keystone accounting for Medical Expenses for 2010 7-Jun-11 3.2 Telcons w! Melanie at Keystone & Sharon DeBuck & Lee Stetler; Health care at Bridges Nursing Home; Compile data for 2010 tax return and complete return & mail to Lc~e 15-Jun-11 0.1 Telcon w/Lee Stetler re: Thursday appointment 16-Jun-11 0.7 Research Medical/Nursing Home expense as tax deduction; Up-date atty time record; Prep for mtg w/Lee's mother 17-Jun-11 1.0 Review case; Telcons w/Lee & w/Sharon DeBuck 7-Jul-11 0.1 Telcon w/Lee Stettler re: Inheritance tax payment; Set time to receive funds 8-Jul-11 0.5 Telcons wlSharon DeBuck & Lee Stetler and file notes. 13-Jul-11 1.1 Review file & notes; Telcon w/Susie Moore at Disc. Bd. to revieH~ status of case; Fax letter w/cover 14-Jul-11 0.1 Receive call from Lee Stetler & return call 18-Jul-11 2_0 Telcon w/Pat at Halifax N B re' annuity reclamation Prep for wr•~p-up meetinra wlLee~ Meeting w/Lee 26.5 Total Time to Date 16.5 Time Not Covered by Initial Retainer _ + IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION IN RE: ESTATE OF MARY C. DUGAN, NO. 2010-01018 DECEASED CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, G. Patrick O'Connor, Esquire, hereby certify that I am, this day, serving the foregoing petition upon the following individual in the followi~ig manner: By first class mail, postage pre-paid: Wayne M. Pecht, Esquire Suite 200 1205 Manor Drive Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 DATE: i,2~ ~a -// , atrick O Connor, Esquire Attorney r1o. 64720 3105 Old ~Jettysburg Road Camp Hill, PA 17011 (717) 737.7760