Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-27-14 (7) IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA ORPHAN'S COURT DIVISION IN RE: Estate of David L. Gearhart Estate File No.: 21-11-04s� -r, ;,; deceased I r-: ?_ c L PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEE-'`=- 5 To the Honorable Judges of said Court: The Petition of Troy B. Long, the Executor of the Will of David L. Gearhart, deceased and Barbara Ellen Gearhart , Beneficiary of the Will and Testamentary Trust of David L. Gearhart, deceased and Tracy M. Besselman, proposed Trustee and respectfully state that: I. David L. Gearhart died on February 26, 2011 a resident of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. 2. The Decedent left a Will that was admitted to probate in the office of the Register of Wills of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania on April 5, 2011 and Letters Testamentary granted to Troy B. Long. A copy of the Will is attached hereto as Exhibit «A„ 3. Pursuant to the Lastly Paragraph of the Will, the Decedent provided for the appointment of trustee of certain testamentary trust as follows: "I nominate, constitute and appoint my nephew, namely, Troy Long, to be the Executor of this may Last Will and Testament and the Trustee of the trust created hereby, but if for any reason he should not qualify as such Executor and or Trustee or cease so to serve, then and in that event, I nominate, constitute and appoint ORRSTOWN BANK, of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, or its successor by merger, consolidation or other reorganization, to be the Executor hereof and/or Trustee hereunder, such and both to serve without bond or other security as a condition of qualification hereunder." 4. Troy B. Long is unable to serve as Trustee and the small amount of liquid assets of the trust make it impractical to be managed by the Orrstown Bank. 5. Troy B. Long under the request of beneficiary Barbara Ellen Gearhart and acting Social Security Representative Payee, Tracy M. Besselman requests that Tracy M. Besselman be appointed as Trustee. a. Tracy M. Besselman has been a friend of the family and the beneficiary since 1982. b. Tracy M. Besselman is employed at Crabtree Rohrbaugh & Associates as the Principal, Director of Interior Design. c. Tracy M. Besselman is presently acting in a fiduciary capacity for Barbara Ellen Gearhart as the representative payee for her social security benefits. 6. The estate administration is ready to be terminated and the Petitioners are ready to fund the trust under the Will as so directed. 7. Tracy M. Besselman has consented to serve as the trustee of the trust created under the Will of David L. Gearhart, Deceased and her acceptance to serve is attached hereto as Exhibit "B". 8. This Petition is filed to confirm the appointment of Tracy M. Besselman as the trustee of the trust under the Will and to confirm her authority to act on behalf of the same. 9. Pursuant to 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. Section 711 (12) and Section 7764 (c ), this Court has jurisdiction to confirm the appointment of trustees of testamentary trusts. Wherefore, petitioner respectfully requests this Court to confirm the appointment of Tracy M. Besselman as trustee of the trust under the Will of David L. Gearhart, Deceased. JOHNSTON & ZAGURSKIE, ESQ. Date: 7-1119 By Donis agurskie, Esquire Attorney ID# 65682 117 Main Street P.O. Box O Mifflin, PA 17058 717-436-8044 VERIFICATION I, Troy B. Long, as Executor of the Estate of David L. Gearhart, verify that the statements made in the attached Petition For Appointment of Trustee. I understand that false statements herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. 4904, relating to unsworn falsifications to authorities. Date: Z��/o�Y - �� Troy B. Long - Executor of the Estate of David L. Gearhart IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA ORPHAN'S COURT DIVISION IN RE: Estate of David L. Gearhart Estate File No.: 21-11-0432 deceased JOINDER We, the undersigned, being parties other than the petitioner beneficially interested in the estate of the foregoing decedent, do hereby certify that we have read the foregoing petition and join in the prayer thereof. Date: Tracy sselman - Proposed Successor e or Barbara Ellen Gearhart, Beneficiary Date: ichard B. Druby, At"an bara Ellen Gearhart, Beneacey Besselman, Trustee Date: I D 2 Q {j7 Barbara Ellen Gearhart, Beneficiary LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT I,DAVID L. GEARHART,of the Township of Upper Allen,County of Cumberland,and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,being of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding,do make,publish and declare this as and for my Last Will and Testament, hereby '< revoking and making void all former wills and codicils by me at anytime heretofore made. ' t°tq nt FIRST. I order and direct that all my just debts and funeral expenses be paid by my Executor,hereinafter named,as soon as conveniently may be done after my decease. SECOND. I give and bequeath my framed cloth quilt with"chicken scratch"stitching dated 1901 to my friend,namely,KELLY BAILEY(wife of Earnest F. Zimmerman),absolutely, if she survives me. THIRD.I order and direct my Executor,hereinafter named,to permit my daughter, namely,BARBARA ELLEN GEARHART to select items of my household goods which she may desire to possess for her personal use,which items I give and bequeath to her, The selection process shall not be used to acquire personalty for liquidation purposes. ,r =FY After completion of my daughter's selection of household goods,1 authorize F 6j 1 TROY LONG to select items of household goods which he may desire to possess for his immediate family's personal use,which items I give and bequeath to him. I order and direct that my dining room suite and bedroom suite shall be considered separate units and shall not be divided into separate pieces of furniture. FOURTH.I give and bequeath to the SHEPHERDSTOWN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH a sum of money equal to five per centum(5%)of my net estate before payment of any death-related taxes(e.g. Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax),said net estate to be computed based upon assets and deductions(other than any deduction allowed for this charitable bequest)as reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue for inheritance tax purposes. "'dwise:and bequeath-all-the,rest,residue and remainder of my Estate,real, W OFFICES LBAKER NEMAN.P.C. pgspnaixagdtm,bzc ,whats6(Fver and wheresoever situated,unto my Trustee hereinafter named, -r.� a a IsR.!s yST ER'THELESSyYO hold;manage,invest and reinvest for the benefit of my EXHIBIT "A" daughter,namely,BARBARA ELLEN GEARHART,on the following terms and conditions. A. I authorize and empower my Trustee in his sole and absolute discretion to use,expend,consume and apply such amounts of income and principal from time to time as may be necessary and proper for the support,care and comfort of my said daughter during her lifetime. In exercising said discretion,my Trustee shall take into consideration the extent of my daughter's ability to be gainfidly employed and to support, care and maintain herself by her earnings,and shall have the right to refuse the use of said funds in the event that my daughter should willfully refuse to be self-sustaining. B. I designate this trust to be a spend-thrift trust. No portion of said trust, whether income or principal,shall be assignable by my said daughter or be available to anyone having a claim against her before actual payment to her. No part of the trust assets shall be subject to the claims of my daughter's creditors regardless of the type or nature of the claim. Under no circumstances can my daughter compel a distribution from the trust for any purpose. The Trustee's discretion is final as to all interested parties. The Trustee's absolute and independent judgment,rather than any other party's determination,is intended to be the criterion on which distributions are made. No court or any other person should substitute its or their judgment for the decisions made by the Trustee. C. I authorize and empower my said Trustee to invest the assets of said trust in any reasonable manner and not be limited or restricted to so-called`legal"or statutory investments for fiduciaries. D. I authorize and empower my Trustee to retain in kind any real estate forming a part of the trust estate occupied by my daughter and to permit her continued occupancy thereof without payment of rent or on such other terms and conditions which the Trustee shall determine in his discretion. E. Upon the death of my said daughter,the trust shall be terminated and the then remaining balance thereof shall be distributed unto my nephew,namely,TROY uw orFices SNE�BAKER& RENNEMAN,P.C. LONG,absolutely and in fee simple,if he is then living. If my said nephew should not be living,then and in that event,I give,devise and bequeath said balance of the trust 2 unto JARED LONG,absolutely and in fee simple,subject,however,to the protective trust provisions contained in Item Seventh hereinbelow. SIXTH. If my daughter,namely,BARBARA ELLEN GEARHART, does not survive me,then and in such event,I give,devise and bequeath all the rest,residue and remainder of my estate,real,personal and mixed,whatsoever and wheresoever situated,unto illy nephew, namely, TROY LONG,absolutely and in fee simple,if he survives me. If my said nephew should not survive me,then and in that ultimate event,I give,devise and bequeath my said residuary estate unto JARED LONG,subject to the protective trust provisions in Item Seventh hereinbelow. SEVENTH.If any beneficiary named hereinabove has not attained the age of twenty-five (25)years at the time of distribution,I order and direct that the distributive share of each such person shall be paid over and delivered unto the beneficiary's surviving parent,as my testamentary trustee,IN TRUST,NEVERTHELESS,to hold,manage,invest,accumulate income and reinvest for the benefit of said beneficiary and until said beneficiary attains the age of twenty-five(25)years,at which time said trust shall be terminated and the net proceeds thereof shall be paid over to the beneficiary absolutely. I authorize and empower my said Trustee to invest the assets of said trust in any reasonable manner and not be limited or restricted to so-called"legal"or statutory investments for fiduciaries. I designate any trust hereunder to be a spend-thrift trust. The beneficiary shall have no right to invade,pledge,assign or otherwise dispose of the assets of said trust(including income) nor shall any creditor of a beneficiary have any right to seize,levy or execute upon said assets by reason of any pledge,assignment or other transfer,voluntarily or involuntarily,made by said beneficiary. I further authorize and empower my said trustee to use,consume,expend,and apply from time to time such amounts of income and principal of and from said trust which in the exercise of its sole discretion shall be determined to be reasonable and necessary for the beneficiary's education.The term"education"shall be construed and interpreted to mean college or other post- LA OFFICES SNELBANER a BRENNEMAN, P.C. high school training which is intended to improve the beneficiary's productivity as an adult or enhance the quality of his or her life.In considering what is reasonable and necessary,my said Trustee will take into consideration the primary responsibility of the beneficiary's surviving -3- parent to provide such education.,it is my will and intention that the foregoing discretionary provision for education shall be supplementary to the parent's primary responsibility. LASTLY. I nominate,constitute and appoint my nephew,namely,TROY LONG,to be the Executor of this,my Last Will and Testament and the Trustee of the trust created hereby,but if for any reason he should not qualify as such Executor and/or Trustee or cease so to serve,that and in that event,I nominate,constitute and appoint ORRSTOWN BANK,of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania,or its successor by merger,consolidation or other reorganization,to be the Executor hereof and/or Trustee hereunder,such and both to serve without bond or other security as a condition of qualification hereunder. IN WITNESS WHEREOF,i,DAVID L.GEARHART,have hereunto set my hand and seal to this my Last Will and Testament,which consists of four(4)typewritten pages to each of which I have affixed my signature this 3r0 day of January,A.D.Two Thousand Seven(2007). DAVID L. aAZHART The preceding instrument,consisting of this and three(3)other typewritten pages,each identified by the signature of the Testator,was on the date thereof signed,sealed,published and declared by DAVID L. GEARHART,the Testator therein named,as and for his Last Will and Testament,in the presence of us,who,at his request,in his presence and in the presence of each other,have subscribed our names as witnesses hereto. -- uw oEncEs SNELBAKER& IRENNEMAN.P.C. -4- COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA) SS. COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND ) We,DAVID L.GEARHART,RICHARD C. SNELBAKER and JANE J.COONEY,the Testator and the witnesses,respectively,whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument,being first duly swom,do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the Testator signed and executed the instrument as his Last Will and Testament and that he had signed willingly,and that he executed it as his free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed,and that each of the witnesses,in the presence and hearing of the Testator,signed the Will as a witness and that to the best of his or her knowledge,the Testator was at that time eighteen years of age or older,of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence. Testator Witness W ess Subscribed,swom to and acknowledged before me by DAVID L. GEARHART,the Testator,and subscribed and sworn to before me by RICHARD C. SNELBAKER and JANE J. COONEY,the witnesses,this 3rtl day of January, 2007. COMMON+iu'EALI'H OF PEIVNSYLVANIA N0 ,ial.Seat Notary Public Sandm K.Sha vs,Notary Public MocluwiL rg Born,Grmbedard County My Co rrf Ln EVirz,Nov.22,2007 Memhar,PenncN'eniz A=sx3tion Of Notaries LAW OFFICES SNELBAKER a: RENNEMAN.P.C. IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA ORPHAN'S COURT DIVISION IN RE: Estate of David L. Gearhart Estate File No.: 21-11-0432 deceased ACCEPTANCE OF APPOINTMENT TO SERVE AS TRUSTEE (EXHIBIT "B") I hereby accept my appointment as substitute/successor trustee of the testamentary trust set up for the benefit of Barbara Ellen Gearhart through the Last Will and Testament of David L. Gearhart, Deceased. Date: Tracy M. a selman