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Home My WebLink About11-05-12IN RE: ESTATE OF ROBERT J. LAPORTE IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS COURT DIVISION N0.2011-00026 ANSWER TO PETITION TO SECURE ORDER DIRECTING HEIR TO DISCLOSE AND HAVE VALUED PERSONAL PROPERTY RETAINED AND NOW, comes Respondent, Susan M. LaPorte, by and through e o - ~~ ^~ ~-~ undersigned counsel, answering the Petition as follows: ~ ~ ~"_-n~. ~- `mac ~~ w,- ~ ~ . t _'a 1. Admitted. ~ < ~ - _: ~ c .~ . -~ 2 Admitted C7 ~%' e' ` -t ~ +v ~_== c~ `- . . ~~``~ ~ `n 3. Admitted. However, Respondent's proper address is 9540 Lagersfield"' Circle, Vienna, Va. 22181. 4. Admitted. 5. Admitted. 6. Denied. Although Petitioner may believe she has completed the noted tasks, Respondent believes that the accounting of various assets is inaccurate and Petitioner has been negligent and/or willful in not properly accounting for all estate assets. 7. Admitted in part, denied in remainder. It is admitted that the Inheritance Tax Return was filed and accepted. It is denied that the Inheritance Tax Return accurately sets forth all estate assets. 8. Admitted in part, denied in remainder. It is admitted that items of personal property were removed by Petitioner. It is denied that the items removed were of nominal value. In fact, Respondent believes the assets removed by Petitioner had a substantial value. It is further believed, Petitioner intentionally misrepresented the value of items and omitted numerous items to allow herself to receive a larger share of the estate for her own benefit and to the detriment of Respondent. 9. Denied. It is specifically denied that all assets removed by Petitioner have been accounted for and appraised. 10. Admitted. 11. Denied. After reasonable investigation, Respondent is without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to what Petitioner believed her service as Executrix required. By way of further answer, Respondent believes that Petitioner intentionally did not disclose items she removed to provide a personal benefit to herself and cause an inequitable distribution of the estate. 12. Denied. Each time Respondent came to Pennsylvania and removed items from her deceased father's home, she provided Petitioner with an e-mail itemizing everything she removed. By way of further Answer, Petitioner was normally present when Respondent removed items and in fact assisted in packing and carrying the items to Respondent's vehicle. Petitioner's averment at this late stage of the estate administration suggesting she tried to avoid confrontation with her sister is a ruse in an attempt to cover up or explain away the improper and illegal actions she engaged in by not reporting the assets she was well aware of. 13. Denied. When the possibility for an equitable settlement became unlikely, Respondent questioned the validity of the Inventory and Inheritance Tax Return. Petitioner, despite signing the Inheritance Tax Return under penalties of perjury and attesting that the return was correct and complete, apparently became concerned with her misdeeds. 14. Admitted in part, denied in remainder. It is admitted that Petitioner secured an appraisal of certain personal property removed. It is denied the appraisal and the assets apparently brought to the attention of the appraiser by Petitioner is even close to being complete. 15. Admitted in part, denied in remainder. It is admitted that Respondent has received a request from counsel for the estate to have the items removed from decedent's residence appraised. However, this request is untimely as an Inventory of all decedent's real and personal property must be filed with the Register of Wills by every personal representative no later than the date she files an account, or the due date, including any extensions for the filing of the Inheritance Tax Return, whichever is earlier. PEF 3301(c). Additionally, the filed Inventory was verified by the affidavit of Petitioner. PEF 3301(a). Furthermore, the instructions for preparing the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Return only requires an appraisal "if any article is worth more than $3,000.00, or if any collection of articles in one category is valued at more than $10,000.00." The Property removed by Respondent does not require an appraisal. Despite knowing that the Inventory was seriously incomplete, Petitioner executed this document. Respondent had consistently provided Petitioner with an updated spreadsheet of items she removed. Accordingly, Petitioner was fully aware of the missing property when she executed the Inventory and Inheritance Tax Return. 16. Admitted in part, denied in remainder. It is admitted that counsel for Petitioner contacted an appraiser in Virginia. However, his contact is untimely. If, after the original inventory is filed, additional property is found, Petitioner must file with the Register of Wills a supplemental inventory listing and valuing such property. A supplemental inventory must be filed within thirty (30) days of the discovery of the additional property. PEF 3303. Clearly, Petitioner was aware of the personal property removed by Respondent for well over a year but decided, under penalties of perjury, to sign an Inventory and Inheritance Tax Return, representing false information. Additionally, per the instructions for preparing an Inheritance Tax Return, an appraisal is not required. 17. Denied. Respondent believes that the requests for an appraisal are untimely and in contravention of Pennsylvania law since Petitioner had full knowledge of the items removed by Respondent. Additionally, the instructions for preparing an Inheritance Tax Return do not require such an appraisal. Furthermore, Petitioner has failed to file a formal account with the Court to allow Respondent to file objections to the estate administration. Although Respondent, upon becoming aware of the misdeeds of Petitioner, considered filing objections prior to an account being filed, Respondent has decided to file objections to the account once filed since any hearing thereon in the discretion of the Court will probably be delayed until the audit of the account. PEF 3305. 18. Admitted. 19. Denied. The request for an appraisal is untimely and in contravention of Pennsylvania law. Petitioner was fully aware of items removed by Respondent and should have accurately and honestly completed the Inventory and Inheritance Tax Return when they were filed. Petitioner's misdeeds should not now cause a burden on Respondent. 20. Denied. It is Petitioner that has not faithfully fulfilled her duties as Executrix resulting in an erroneous and falsified Inventory, Inheritance Tax Return and an untimely request for an appraisal. Respondent always has been and is still willing to fully cooperate; however, Petitioner has not been forthright on the assets she retained and Respondent does not want any part of the illicit activities conducted by Petitioner. WHEREFORE, Respondent, Susan M. LaPorte, respectfully requests this Honorable Court deny the Petition to secure an appraisal as being untimely, find that Petitioner has failed to perform her duties as Executrix with moral turpitude, compel Petitioner to disclose all items of personal property, tangible or intangible, taken by Petitioner, find that Respondent had timely provided Petitioner with all items of personalty removed from decedent's residence, award Respondent attorney fees for having to incur professional fees for Petitioner's dishonesty, and such other relief this Court deems just and reasonable. Respectfully submitted, LAW OFFICES OF CRAIG A. DIEHL Date: 1~ BY~ Craig A. iehl, Esquire Attorney LD. No. 52801 3464 Trindle Road Camp Hill, PA 17011 Tel: (717) 763-7613 Fax: (717) 763-8293 NOV-O1-2012 THU 1136 AM Bureau of Econ. Analysis FAX N0. 2026062894 VERIFICATION I, Susan M. LaPorte, Respondent, being duly sworn according to law, deposes that the facts set forth in the foregoing Answer to Petition to Secure Order Directing Heir to Disclose and Have Valued Personal Property Retained are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information,. and belief. The undersigned understands that the statements made therein are made subject to 'the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. §4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. Tate: ~ I ~ oZ. ,~(~, , Susan M. LaPorte P, O1/O1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE AND NOW, the 2nd day of November, 2012, the undersigned hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Answer to Petition to Secure Order ,Directing Heir to Disclose and Have Valued Personal Rroperty Retained was served upon the following parties by way of United States first class mail, postage prepaid, addressed as follows: Bradley L. Griffie, Esquire 200 North Hanover Street Carlisle, PA 17013 Cumberland County Courthouse Register of Wills 1 Courthouse Square Carlisle, PA 17013 r1 ,T-~ Susan M. Davis, Legal Assistant