HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-08-13 •
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McNEES WALLACE&NURICK LLC "�
Kimberly M.Colonna(PA 80362)
Elizabeth P.Mullaugh(PA 76397)
100 Pine Street,P.O.Box 1166
Harrisburg,PA 17108
717-232-8000
ATTORNEYS FOR MARSHALL A.DIXON,EXECUTOR
IN RE: : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY,PENNSYLVANIA
ESTATE OF :
GEORGE F.DIXON,JR. : ORPHANS'COURT DIVISION
DECEASED : No.21-1994-0754
IN RE: : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY,PENNSYLVANIA
ESTATE OF :
LOTTIE IVY DIXON : ORPHANS'COURT DIVISION
DECEASED : No.21-07-0686
EXECUTOR'S REQUEST FOR STATUS CONFERENCE
Marshall Dixon, Executor of the Estate of Lottie Ivy Dixon(the "Executor"), requests a
status conference in the above-referenced case and states as follows:
1. In August 2008, George F. Dixon, III, and Richard Dixon(the "Brothers") and
M&T Bank("M&T") asserted various objections to the Account of the Estate of Lottie Ivy
Dixon(the "Estate Account").
2. The litigation of the Estate Account objections continued over a period of yeaxs
and concluded with a December 28, 2012 order of this Court, which order was not appealed by
any party.
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3. In January 2009, the Brothers and M&T, as co-trustees of the Qualified
Terminable Interest Property Trust(the "QTIP") filed an account(the "QTIP Account")which
was subject to objections filed by Marshall Dixon, in his individual capacity, and by the
Brothers.
4. Some of the issues raised in the QTIP Account obj ections related to matters that
were disputed in the Estate Account objections.
5. The QTIP Account objections were resolved by agreement of the parties in
February 2010, which agreement was documented in a directive issued by Auditor Wayne F.
Shade and adopted as an order of court.
6. In connection with the agreement to resolve the QTIP Account objections, the
parties agreed that the QTIP co-trustees would file a Revised Statement of Distribution of the
funds and real estate in the QTIP upon the conclusion of the litigation of the Estate Account
objections.l
7. The distribution of the QTIP funds will be affected by various agreements and
rulings made in connection with the Estate Account objections, including:
� an agreement that the Auditor's fees and costs, which were advanced
from the QTIP funds, would be deducted from the QTIP distribution of
the party/parties who were required to bear those fees2;
• the QTIP co-trustees' obligation to recover and appropriately distribute
the $146,970.55 that was paid from the QTIP to the Lottie Dixon
Revocable Trust, (plus accrued interest on that amount)which is triggered
1 A statement to this effect was placed on the record at the start of the February 24,2010 hearing on�e Estate
Account objections.
2 The December 2012 ruling affirmed the Auditor's ruling that the Auditor's fees should be borne by the Estate.
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by the QTIP co-trustees' concession in the litigation of the Estate Account
obj ections that that amount was due from the QTIP to the Estate3; and,
• the court's ruling that the Brothers must pay a sanction of$73,357.50 to
reimburse a portion of the Executor's attorneys' fees.
8. As noted above, the litigation of the Estate Account obj ections concluded on
December 28, 2012.
9. Shortly thereafter, counsel for M&T indicated that M&T would prepare and
circulate a draft supplemental QTIP Account and revised Statement of Distribution. Counsel
agreed to circulate the draft in order for the parties to raise concerns and request corrections in an
effort to avoid further litigation.
10. Since January 2013, the Executor's counsel has repeatedly requested that M&T
circulate a draft supplemental QTIP Account and M&T's counsel has repeatedly indicated that a
draft would be forthcoming shortly.
11. Although more than four months have elapsed since the Estate Account
objections were resolved, no supplemental QTIP Account and no revised statement of
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distribution have been circulated or filed by the QTIP co-trustees.
12. Counsel for M&T has indicated that some portion of the delay has resulted from
various issues raised by the Brothers and by the schedules of the counsel for M&T and the
Brothers.
13. The delay in supplemental QTIP Accounting is preventing the final conclusion of
the Estate's affairs and causing the unnecessary depletion of QTIP funds as a result of monthly
3 The Estate set-off $128,344.28 of that debt by retaining a portion of the tax refund owed by the Estate to the
QTIP. The QTIP co-trustees initially objected to that setoff,but eventually withdrew that objection,acknowledging
that the$146,970.55 should have been paid from the QTIP to the Estate rather than to the Revocable Trust.
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trustee fees paid to M&T and the Brothers and also as a result of other charges paid from the
QTIP funds.
14. In order to bring the Estate's affairs to a conclusion and to implement the ruling
on the Estate Account objections without further delay and expense,the Executor requests that
the Court exercise its equitable powers to hold a status conference in order to set deadlines for
the circulation of a draft QTIP Account and Revised Statement of Distribution, and the filing of
the same.
WHEREFORE,the Executor requests that the Court issue an order scheduling a status
conference in the above-referenced matter and requiring the attendance of at least counsel of
records for the parties.
McNEES WALLACE &NURICK LLC
By: .
Kimberly M. Colonna(I.D.No. 80362)
Elizabeth P. Mullaugh(I.D.No. 76397)
100 Pine Street, P.O. Box 1166
Harrisburg, PA 17108-1166
717- 232-8000
Counsel for Marshall Dixon as Executor of the
Estate of Lottie Ivy Dixon
Date: May 6, 2013
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
The undersigned hereby certifies that on this date a true and correct copy of the forgoing
document was served by first class mail,postage prepaid, addressed as follows:
Kevin J. Kehner, Esquire
Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP
200 Locust Street, Suite 400
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Attorney for George Dixon and Richard Dixon
Mark Bradshaw, Esquire
Stevens & Lee, P.C.
17 N. Second St., 16th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Attorney for M&T Bank
Daniel L. Sullivan, Esq.
Saidis, Sullivan& Rogers
26 West High Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
Attorney for Marshall Dixon, Individually
Charlotte Ivy Dixon
323 Bayview Street
Camden, ME 04843
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Kimb olonna
Dated: May 6, 2013