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Home My WebLink About12-28-111N RE: ESTATE OF : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF RICHARD R. COOK, :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Deceased :ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION NO. 21-10-076 ORPHANS' COURT IN RE: PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE FEES UNDER THE ESTATE ADMINISTRATION OF RICHARD R. COOK, DECEASED BEFORE OLER, J. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 27th day of December, 2011, upon consideration of Petitioner's Petition for Administrative Fees under the Estate of Richard R. Cook, Deceased, following a hearing held on October 17, 2011, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying opinion, the petition is granted and F&M Trust of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, is authorized as trustee to pay the fee claimed by Petitioner out of the testamentary trust created by Richard R. Cook, decedent, for the benefit of decedent's children. BY THE COURT, J. Edward Beck, Jr., Esq. 343B South Potomac Street Waynesboro, PA 17268 Attorney for Intervenors Mark A. Mateya, Esq. Alexandra Makosky, Esq. 55 W. Church Avenue Carlisle, PA 17013 James R. Cook 464 Short Pine Circle Orlando, FL 32807 Richard K. Hoskinson, Esq. 147 East Washington Street Chambersburg, PA 17201 Solicitor for the Trust Department of F&M Trust Bank IN RE: ESTATE OF : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF RICHARD R. COOK, :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Deceased :ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION NO. 21-10-0766 ORPHANS' COURT IN RE: PETITION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE FEES UNDER THE ESTATE ADMINISTRATION OF RICHARD R. COOK, DECEASED BEFORE OLER, J. OPINION and ORDER OF COURT OLER, J., December 27, 2011. This civil matter arises out of a disagreement between Petitioner (Mark Mateya, Esq.) and Intervenors over whether Petitioner may receive administrative fees from a testamentary trust established in Richard R. Cook's will ("Trust"). Intervenors, as minors and sole beneficiaries of the trust in question, seek to bar Petitioner from accessing the trust for this purpose. For disposition at this time is Petitioner's Petition for Administrative Fees under the Estate Administration of Richard R. Cook, Deceased. On December 13, 2010, Petitioner filed a Petition for Administrative Fees under the Estate Administration of Richard R. Cook, Deceased ("Cook" or "decedent").Z On January 31, 2011, Intervenors filed a Petition To Intervene in Petition for Administrative Fees,3 and the court granted their petition on May 19, 2011.4 A hearing on the petition for administrative fees was held on October 17, 2011. At issue is whether the court should authorize the trustee of the Trust to access the funds of the Trust in order to compensate Petitioner for legal services rendered in connection with the estate of Richard R. Cook. ~ The children's mothers, Caroline Cardone Hamsher and Miranda Kay Cook, are acting as natural guardians on behalf of the children in this matter. Z Petition for Administrative Fees under the Estate of Richard R. Cook, Deceased, filed on December 13, 2010 ("Petition for Fees, _"). s Petition To Intervene in Petition for Administrative Fees, filed January 31, 2011 ("Petition To Intervene, ~,. a Order of Court, May 19, 2011. The facts pertinent to this issue are not basically in dispute and may be summarized as follows:5 As some point prior to June 2, 2010, Mel and Judy Mohr contacted Petitioner, a Cumberland county attorney, seeking "estate planning assistance" for one of their friends, Richard R. Cook. Petitioner assisted Cook in the planning and preparation of his Last Will and Testament, which was executed on June 2, 2010. Cook died on June 3, 2010. In this regard, it was Cook's desire to provide for his children by two marriages in a manner least likely to facilitate a challenge by the children's mothers to the disposition, and least likely to enable the mothers to gain access to the money for their own purposes. To this end, Petitioner devised the method of a testamentary trust for the benefit of the children, funded by proceeds of a life insurance policy of which the children were beneficiaries. It is agreed that Petitioner's proposed fee for the work he performed, which he seeks to collect from decedent's estate, was a reasonable one, and that in his capacity as the estate's attorney Petitioner "has administered the estate of Richard Cook within the normal boundaries of estate administration in Central Pennsylvania." Aside from a life insurance policy worth $258,000.00, Cook was insolvent at his death. Cook's will established a testamentary trust to benefit his two children, Miranda Kay Cook and Anthony Preston Cook. Both sides agree that the Trust was funded through $250,000 of Cook's $258,000 life insurance policy, with the remaining proceeds of the policy going to the mothers of Intervenors in equal shares of $4,000. F&M Trust in Chambersburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, became trustee. On September 28, 2010, Prudential Insurance, the carrier in question, issued a check for $250,000.00 to F&M Trust. The check was sent to Petitioner's law firm. DISCUSSION "[T]he orphans' court is, within its jurisdiction, a court governed by equity principles and practice ...." In re Gerlach's Estate, 364 Pa. 207, 214, 72 A.2d 271, 275 5 The parties have facilitated the disposition of this matter by way of a joint factual stipulation. Petitioner's Ex. 1, Hearing, October 17, 2011. 2 (1950). "[F]acts and factors to be taken into consideration in determining [attorney's fees payable out of a trust] include: the degree of responsibility incurred; whether the fund involved was "created" by the attorney; the professional skill and standing of the attorney in his profession; the results he was able to obtain; and the ability of the client to pay a reasonable fee for the services rendered." In re LaRocca Estate, 431 Pa. 542, 546, 246 A.2d 337, 339 (1968). Under appropriate circumstances, the corpus of a trust created by a decedent may be subject to estate administrative fees. In re Estate of Stevenson, 436 Pa. Super. 576, 648 A.2d 559 (1994) (tentative trust in form of bank account created during decedent's life for benefit of third party). In the present case, Petitioner assisted decedent in his hour of need by fashioning a decedent's estate designed to meet the decedent's legitimate concerns over the secure disposition of his assets to his children upon his impending death. The plan left the probate estate with no assets to pay Petitioner in his capacity as attorney for the estate, as he completed implementation of the final wish of decedent. Had Petitioner desired, he could have assured himself of a solvent estate by proposing a less effective scheme. Under these unique circumstances, and the principles recited above, Petitioner's Petition for Administrative Fees under the Estate of Richard R. Cook will be granted. ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this 27th day of December, 2011, upon consideration of Petitioner's Petition for Administrative Fees under the Estate of Richard R. Cook, Deceased, following a hearing held on October 17, 2011, and for the reasons stated in the accompanying opinion, the petition is granted and F&M Trust of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, is authorized as trustee to pay the fee claimed by Petitioner out of the testamentary trust created by Richard R. Cook, decedent, for the benefit of decedent's children. BY THE COURT, s/ J. Wesley Oler, Jr. J. Wesley Oler, Jr., J. 3 J. Edward Beck, Jr., Esq. 343B South Potomac Street Waynesboro, PA 17268 Attorney for Intervenors Mark A. Mateya, Esq. Alexandra Makosky, Esq. 55 W. Church Avenue Carlisle, PA 17013 James R. Cook 464 Short Pine Circle Orlando, FL 32807 Richard K. Hoskinson, Esq. 147 East Washington Street Chambersburg, PA 17201 Solicitor for the Trust Department of F&M Trust Bank 4 ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION In Re: RICHARD C COOK, DECEASED COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF . CUMBERLAND COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA NO. 21-10-0776 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE OF ORDER ORDER DATE: 12/28/11 JUDGE'S INITIALS: JWO TIME STAMP DATE: 12/28/11 IN RE: ORDER OF COURT SERVICE TO: J EDWARD BECK JR MARK A MATEYA METHOD OF MAILING: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ® LISPS ^ RRR ^ PETITIONER ^ HAND DELIVERED ®JUDGE ^ OTHER ^ CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT MAILED: 12/28/11 SERVICE TO: METHOD OF MAILING: ^ LISPS ^ RRR ^ HAND DELIVERED ^ OTHER MAILED: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ^ PETITIONER ^ JUDGE ® CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT ''.' ~ , ~. ~ , n ~~ ' ..-~ ' jt ,.'~1~~ .~~ { i Deputy Clerk of Orphans' Court ~/