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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-14-12IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION IN RE: ESTATE OF OLIVE JANETTE HASS EBERT, Deceased. NO.: 21-10-0142 ~~ ~_ 'F'. J c _, ~... Vic, ~.; c~ ~, ,,~ _y b OBJECTIONS TO FIRST AND FINAL ACCOUNTING OF SHARON TAYLOR AND NOW, this t~~ay of June, 2012, comes the Objector, Deborah Heisler, by and through her attorneys, MENGES & McLAUGHLIN, PC and Matthew D. Menges, Esquire and objects the First and Final Accounting filed April 5, 2012 as follows: ~~ ~> ~.. .x- c.~ ~, 1. Objector, Deborah Heisler, is a beneficiary under the Last Will and Testament of the Decedent. 2. The Executrix of the Estate is Sharon Taylor, whose accounting is being objected to herein. OBJECTION I -REAL PROPERTY 3. At the time of her death, Decedent owned real property located at 6 Houston Drive, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 4. The Estate obtained an independent appraisal of the real property on May 19, 2010, approximately three months after Decedent's death. 5. Said appraisal set the fair market value of the property to be $165,000.00. 6. The Estate filed its Inheritance Tax Return listing the fair market value of the real property to be $165,000.00. a~ ^, ~~ i . > ~ ? ':.7 ~'7 E l 71 _.~, -, ~,. _.;_ ;'~~~ c' ~.__ rr2 ~•~ ~ "~ 7. The Estate made no effort to sell the real property on the open market. 8. The Estate did not employ a real estate agent to list the real property for sale. 9. The Estate transferred the real property to Dana Dagle-Lowe for a gross purchase price of $130,000.00 in June 8, 2011. 10. The purchase price agreed to by the Estate was lower than the appraised fair market value by $35,000.00. 11. Sharon Taylor breached her fiduciary duty to the Estate by selling the real property at an artificially low price without offering it for sale on the open market. WHEREFORE, Objector, Deborah Heisler, respectfully requests this Honorable Court surcharge Sharon Taylor for her breach of fiduciary duty in amount of $35,000.00. OBJECTION II -IMPROPER DISTRIBUTION OF JOINT ACCOUNT 12. All paragraphs of this pleading are incorporated herein by reference. 13. At the time of her death, the Decedent had a joint bank account with Sharon Taylor at Member's First Federal Credit Union. 14. The proceeds of said account were distributed to the Estate. 15. At the time of her death, Decedent had a joint bank account with Dana Dagle-Lowe at PNC Bank. 16. The proceeds of said account were distributed to the Estate. 17. The proceeds of both of the above referenced accounts were used to pay debts of the Decedent and costs and expenses of administering the Estate. 18. Decedent's Last Will and Testament clearly indicates that each of the beneficiaries therein named were to equally inherit from the Decedent. 19. Objector believes, and therefore avers, that the joint accounts which Decedent possessed at the time of her death were titled as joint accounts only for convenience purposes. 20. The Estate's own actions in receiving the proceeds from the joint accounts indicate its intent to treat them as Estate assets. 21. The proceeds from said joint bank accounts are included in the Formal Accounting that was filed as loans to the Estate that were subsequently reimbursed. 22. Previous to its formal accounting, the Estate provided Objector an informal accounting which showed the joint accounts as part of the principal receipts of the Estate. A copy of the informal accounting was already filed of record as Exhibit "B" to the response of Sharon Taylor to Objectors' Petition to Compel a Formal Accounting on March 13, 2012, and is incorporated herein by reference. 23. Said informal accounting indicates that the funds from the joint accounts were received by the Estate, used by the Estate, and then distributed to Sharon Taylor and Dana Dagle-Lowe, without regard for Decedent's Last Will and Testament. 24. The proceeds from the joint accounts should be included in the formal accounting as a principal receipt to the Estate and distributed according to Decedent Last Will and Testament. WHEREFORE, Objector, Deborah Heisler, respectfully requests this Honorable Court order Sharon Taylor to account for the proceeds of the accounts which Decedent owed jointly at the time of her death and distribute said funds according to Decedent's Last Will and Testament. OBJECTION III -FAILURE TO INCLUDE ALL DECEDENT'S ASSETS 25. All paragraphs of this pleading are incorporated herein by reference. 26. Schedule E of the Inheritance Tax Return filed by the Estate and signed by Sharon Taylor indicates that the Decedent had personal property and cash or equivalents totaling $12,050.43. 27. The formal accounting filed by Sharon Taylor indicates that Decedent only had personal property of $1,675.54. 28. The formal accounting fails to account for $10,374.89 in assets reported on Schedule E on the Inheritance Tax Return. WHEREFORE, Objector, Deborah Heisler, respectfully this Honorable Court order Sharon Taylor to account for all the assets listed on the Inheritance Tax Return. OBJECTION IV -EXCESSIVE COST OF CPA 29. All paragraphs of this pleading are incorporated herein by reference. 30. The Estate retained the services of a CPA to prepare the Inheritance Tax Return for the Estate. 31. The Estate incurred a cost of $2,599.00 for only the preparation of the Inheritance Tax Return. 32. There were no complex accounting issues that required the use of a CPA. 33. Despite the use of a CPA, the tax owed was improperly calculated, and the Estate was issued a refund. 34. Objector believes, and therefore avers, that the cost incurred by the Estate for the preparation of the Inheritance Tax Return was excessive and unnecessary. 35. Sharon Taylor breached her fiduciary duty to the Estate by paying a cost that was excessive and unnecessary. WHEREFORE, Objector, Deborah Heisler, respectfully requests this Honorable Court surcharge Sharon Taylor for the difference between the cost of having a CPA prepare the Inheritance Tax Return and the cost of having the Estate's attorney prepare it. Respectfully submitted, ~~f~-~~~ Matthew D. Menges, Esquire Sup. Ct. ID No. 208132 Menges & McLaughlin, PC 145 East Market Street York, PA 17401 (717) 843-8046 Fax (717) 843-8046 znmeti~esia`;voi~rl a~~-fir~n_forlifc.com IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION IN RE: ESTATE OF OLIVE JANETTE NO.: 21-10-0142 HASS EBERT, Deceased. . CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I, Matthew D. Menges, Esquire, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document was provided to Counsel for Personal Representative, Paul D. Daggs, Esquire, via United States First Class Mail as follows: Paul D. Daggs, Esquire Daggs Law, LLC 130 W. Church Street, Suite 100 Dillsburg, PA 17019 Menges & McLaughlin, P.C. Date: June 12, 2012 ~`~~ ~~ Matthew D. Menges, Esquire 145 E. Market St. York, PA 17401 (717)843-8046