HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-25-12 ev
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Jeffrey R. Boswell, Esquire
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BOSWELL, TINTNER & PICCOLA C,,,~
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E-mail (jboswell(a~btpalaw.com)
IN RE: ESTATE OF : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
SARAH McCREA CHAPMAN JONES :CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
LATE OF LOWER MIFFLIN TWP., :ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA.,
DECEASED. : NO. 2009-00329 (21-09-0329)
EXCEPTIONS OF HENRY L. CHAPMAN, KAREN E. CHAPMAN, AND
KATHARINE CHAPMAN MICHALKA, CONTINGENT BENEFICIARIES
OF THE TESTAMENTARY TRUST OF SARAH MCCREA CHAPMAN JONES
AND LIFE TENANTS TO ORDER OF COURT,
DATED DECEMBER 29, 2011, AND FILED JANUARY 5, 2012,
TERMINATING THE CHAPMAN LODGE TRUST
AND NOW, come Henry L. Chapman, Karen E. Chapman, and Katharine
Chapman Michalka, Contingent Beneficiaries of the Testamentary Trust of Sarah
McCrea Chapman Jones (referred to herein as "Contingent Beneficiaries"), by and
through their attorneys, Jeffrey R. Boswell, Esquire, and Boswell, Tintner & Piccola, and
hereby file these Exceptions, thereby objecting to the Order of Court entered by The
Honorable Kenneth A. Mummah, dated December 29, 2011, with regard to the
Chapman Lodge Trust, as follows:
1. The Honorable Kenneth A. Mummah, specially presiding, by his Order dated
December 29, 2011, entered of record January 5, 2012, and served on counsel
January 10, 2012, awarded the balance of the principal and undistributed income of the
Trust Under Will, paragraph NINETEENTH of Sarah McCrea Chapman Jones to St.
Johns Episcopal Church, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, if no objections are timely filed to the
final account of the Trustees of the Chapman Lodge Trust to be filed by Manufacturers
and Traders Trust Company.
2. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, the successor Trustee to
Farmers Trust Company, filed a Petition to Terminate Trust on April 8, 2009.
3. The named Co-Trustee, John McCrea, III, did not join in that Petition to
Terminate Trust.
4. On May 12, 2009, Henry L. Chapman, Karen E. Chapman, and Katharine
Chapman Michalka, Contingent Beneficiaries of the Testamentary Trust of Sarah
McCrea Chapman Jones, filed an Objection in the Form of an Answer to Petition to
Terminate Trust on May 12, 2009.
5. Henry L. Chapman, Karen E. Chapman, and Katharine Chapman Michalka,
the Contingent Beneficiaries ("herein referred to as "Life Tenants"), are named Life
Tenants of the Chapman Lodge Trust, as set forth in paragraph NINETEENTH of the
Last Will of Sarah McCrea Chapman Jones, which is entered of record in this
proceeding.
6. The Contingent Beneficiaries, who are the Life Tenants of the Chapman
Jones Trust, admitted to averment 16 of the Petition to Terminate Trust, which states
that "Because Alfred McCrea Chapman no longer has any need for the property, his
children become joint life tenants in the Chapman Lodge and its adjacent land."
7. The Life Tenants, in their objection, requested this Honorable Court to order
that an account be filed by the Co-Trustee, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company.
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8. Henry Chapman, at the hearing on this matter, testified that he and his sisters
intended to exercise their right to the life tenancy as to Chapman Lodge, its contents,
and the adjacent property, as provided for paragraph NINETEENTH of the Last Will.
9. During the hearing on this matter, no evidence was presented by
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, nor does the record contain any basis to
bypass completely the life tenancies as provided for in paragraph NINETEENTH of the
Last Will, thereby extinguishing or terminating rights of the Life Tenants prior to the
award of the subject property to them, as set forth in the Last Will.
10. The delay in the transfer of the subject property to the Life Tenants has
resulted in the accumulation of significant attorneys fees, trustees fees, and various
costs and expenses, now charged to the Chapman Lodge Trust, as set forth by
evidence presented at the hearing, some of which expenses are not waranted as they
unreasonably reduce the value of the Trust property.
WHEREFORE, Henry L. Chapman, Karen E. Chapman, and Katharine
Chapman Michalka, Contingent Beneficiaries and named Life Tenants, respectfully
request this Honorable Court to grant these Exceptions and reverse the Order of Court
dated December 29, 2011, terminating the Chapman Lodge Trust, now to provide for
distribution to the named Life Tenants, Henry L. Chapman, Karen E. Chapman, and
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Katharine Chapman Michalka, as set forth in paragraph NINETEENTH of the Last Will
of Sarah McCrea Chapman Jones.
Respectfully submitted,
BOSWELL, TINTNER & PICCOLA
By:
Je .Boswell, Esquire
Attorneys for Henry L. Chapman,
Karen E. Chapman, and Katharine
Chapman
DATED: January 25, 2012
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