HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-25-05
IN RE:
MILDRED J. GERBER TRUST
DATED: December 19,1997
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS
CUMBERLAND COUNTY,PENNSYLVANIA
ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION
NO. 21-2002-0540
NO. 21-1998-0195
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INRE:
FRED E. GERBER,SR. TRUST
DATED: July 29,1994
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ANSWER TO AUDITOR DUNCAN'S ORDER TO PROVIDE DOCUMi::NTS
ON ANY DISCOVERY OF COMMINGLED ACCOUNTS, UNDISCLOSED
ASSETS AND THE CURRICULUM VITAE OF ANY OR ALL EXPERT
WITNESSES FOR DOCUMENT REVIEW OR TESTIMONY
(JJ
N
AND NOW, this 22nd day of July,2005, comes Marilyn Gerber,Pro Se, the
eldest child and a full beneficiary of the above stated Trusts who answers the
above Court order signed by Auditor Duncan on May 31,2005 as follows:
1. Lindsay Baird, Esquire representing Frederick E. Gerber,1I requested
books, statements or any other tangible things Marilyn Gerber has in support of
Ms Baird's claim that Marilyn Gerber stated that Frederick E. Gerber,lI was hiding
assets.
a. Marilyn Gerber NEVER made a verbal testimony or produced a written
document that Frederick E. Gerber,1I was hiding a specific asset. Marilyn Gerber
has informed this Court and the counsel for this upcoming hearing as well as
PNC Bank that Frederick E. Gerber,lI has NOT FULLY made an accounting of
the assets tangible and intangible of the estates of Fred E. Gerber,Sr. and Mildred
J. Gerber. As the final Trusts are a pour over Trust which eventually ends up in
the Mildred J. Gerber Trust, Marilyn Gerber has mentioned on numerous occasions
present. There was an accounting of some "trash" being removed but Marilyn Gerber
is aware through the deposition of Mr. Chapman taken by herself and PNC Bank on
May 20,2004 that he indicated that it was strange that there was no china, crystal,
silverware, silver, household goods, antiques. As Marilyn Gerber lived in the
family home from 1996 to January 13,2001 with the exception of a period from
March 1998 to October 1999, she is a good witness to testify as to missing
items which 3 sets of china, a large chest of silver pitchers, platters, etc., an entire
extensive full set of Baccarat French crystal stemware, linens, plates, extensive
jewelry which has never been itemized such as a large aquamarine pendant, a
large topaz pendent, a solid gold frog, several gold coins, valuable evening wear,
and garden equipment.
f. The Objector has located a trust fund in Maryland that has been held by
Bank of America under the name of" the Gerber family Trust". The Objector is
now drawing up a motion seeking a court order for Frederick E. Gerber,1I to
declare the history of this trust and a full accounting. Frederick E. Gerber,1I has
financial accounts with Bank of America.
h. Frederick E. Gerber,1I HAS NEVER SIGNED any document or affidavit
stating that all that he has declared in the above stated Trusts constitutes the
entire value of ALL ASSETS including the asset value of the two estates and
he has NEVER signed or declared under oath or affidavit that there are no other
assets off shore, in off shore banks or any other state.
2. This Court ordered the Objector, Marilyn Gerber to provide documents,
books, statements or any other tangible things in support of her claim that Frederick
E. Gerber, II has commingled funds.
a. The response to this request by Lindsay Baird is very simple. Frederick
E. Gerber,II has taken moneys in unsecured and unauthorized loans as well as
wrote thousands and possibly tens of thousands of dollars from the checking account
of Mildred J. Gerber. Ms. Jennifer Conway, of PNC Bank in New Cumberland stated
under oath in February 2001, that Mildred J. Gerber had often a running balance of
$30,000 to $50,000 in her checking account. Frederick E. Gerber,1I has NEVER
provided any proof that his allegations that Marilyn Gerber took this money are true,
nor has he offered any accounting to support his claim. Therefore, one has to
ask where did this money go and this Objector believes that Frederick E. Gerber, II
has appropriated the money for his own enrichment and therefore commingled it with
own assets.
b. Frederick E. Gerber,1I made a claim in January/February 2001 that
Marilyn Gerber had taken over $180,000 from Mildred J. Gerber and therefore he
intimated Mildred J. Gerber when she was suffering from Alzheimer's disease
into signing a third version of her Irrevocable Trust stating that the first $180,000
would be deducted from Marilyn Gerber's inheritance from her Trust and the
two remaining children would divide their share in two between Jane Heflin and
Frederick E. Gerber,11.
The problem with this amended Trust is that Mildred J. Gerber was suffering
from ALzheimer and also had NO FINANCIAL EXPERIENCE for over 50 years
and was not able to understand, much less state that she knew that Marilyn Gerber
had taken $180,000 from her checking accounts.
Marilyn Gerber had no access to Mildred J. Gerber's Trust funds and had no
access to Mildred's checking account for the sum of $180,000.
Marilyn Gerber suspects that Frederick E. Gerber, II inflated non appraised
values of items which he believes were removed from the residence as well as
inflated charges made on Mildred J. Gerber's credit card with MBNA as well as
her checking account in order to make up a sum of money that reflected what he
and possibly Jane Heflin had taken in cash moneys from Mildred J. Gerber's
checking account in addition to her life insurance moneys and the moneys
received from Florence Gerber Cappe.
c. Frederick E. Gerber, II has taken moneys from Mildred J. Gerber's
restricted Trust for his personal use under the title of loans for which he asked
his mother who was 85 years age and suffering from Alzheimer and only had
his sister, Jane Heflin witness his loan agreement, if there was actually a loan
agreement. Frederick E. Gerber, II then deposited this money or loans into his
personal accounts and commingled the Trust moneys with his own.
d. Frederick E. Gerber,1I has taken $30,000 from the Fred E. Gerber,Sr.
Trust for a deposit for purchase for an expensive home in Fairfax Virginia yet during
his deposition he does not have any recollection or memory of what he paid for
this home or when nor has he provided the documents which the Objector requested
on March 17,2005.
These moneys taken in such large amounts constitute enrichment for his
own personal use when he has a home on Kearney Lane in Fairfax, Virginia and
violates the tenants of the Trust as it was written in 1994.
Frederick E. Gerber,1I is unofficially separated from his wife, Petra Gerber
and this Objector suspects that he is under pressure to meet the demands of his
wife who has attempted to leave him on three occassions during his marriage. His
wife is entitled to one half of his military pension if she would to divorce him but his
wife has essentially not worked and drawn much of a salary during their marriage and
therefore, this Objector believes that one of the homes is being financed for Petra
Gerber through moneys from the Trusts which may have reflected why Frederick E.
Gerber,1I took so many "loans". Petra Gerber is not a beneficiary of this Trust
and she has received moneys from the Trusts and therefore Frederick E. Gerber,1I
is commingling his personal funds by taking moneys from the above stated Trusts
for his personal needs and funds.
Petra Gerber also has a business that Frederick E. Gerber,1I has invested in
and assisted her with moneys that more than likely have come from the Trusts and
or the estates. Petra Gerber has personally stated this to me in 1997,1998,1999.
I believe that Petra Gerber is not legally separated or divorced from Frederick
E. Gerber, II so that she will not have to testify against him in Court.
e. Jane Heflin has also gone through a divorce in 1999 and the Objector
has viewed documents submitted by the Accountant that reflect that the Trusts were
used to relieve debt, pay for legal actions that were related to her divorce and
payment out to her ex-husband, John McCloud Heflin who is NOT a beneficiary of
the above stated Trusts. Again, Frederick E. Gerber,11 has not been completely
forthcoming with all of the documents and most of the documents that Frederick E.
Gerber,1I has submitted to the Objector have been redacted and most receipts
have been overlapped upon each other and not fully visible.
3. My expert witness is not available currently and I have not been able
to secure a curriculum vitae but I shall provide this Court with a copy upon receipt
of such document.
It must be noted that the other counsel for this upcoming hearing have NOT
provided any curriculum vitae's for their stated expert witnesses and Richard Rupp
has not even verified who will be the expert witness as he states that maybe he
will call them or someone else.
Lindsay Baird and Jacqueline Verney have not stated who their expert
witnesses shall be nor provided their pre-hearing memorandum as was ordered
by William A. Duncan,Auditor for July 7,2005. This has been the tenant and tone
of the entire discovery period with much of the requested documents not submitted
to the Objector, no interrogatories answered, and no compliance with ordered
Accounting and legal billable hours which still are outstanding from Lindsay Baird
and Richard Rupp. Auditor Duncan has given another deadline of August 7,2005
to fulfill his requests.
4. All of the documents which Lindsay Baird requests are in the hands of
her Accountant and her client, Frederick E. Gerber,1I as well as her co-counsel,
Richard Rupp as they are in possession of all of these financial documents. The
Court also has a copy of these documents as well as William Duncan. To reproduce
them for this order would be repetitiveburdensome and beyond the financial
means of this Objector.
5. The only document which I have not received for this deadline is the
information from Bank of America on the Gerber family Trust stated in Maryland.
I am still waiting for these documents and may require that this Court provide me
with a Court order for Bank of America to release them in their entirety.
6. For all of the above reasons, in lieu of the fact that the financial
estates of Fred E. Gerber,Sr. and Mildred J. Gerber were used by Frederick E. Gerber,
1\ and have not been fully accounted for as well as the total asset value of the above
stated Trusts have not been fully marshaled and accounted for, it is the
recommendation of this Objector that the personal financial accounts of Frederick E.
Gerber," be ordered to be submitted to all counsel for the period of time from 1998 to
present and should include all of his personal checking accounts, his joint-accounts
with his wife, Petra Gerber, his savings accounts, his credit cards, his IRA/ROTH
accounts, his Pentagon Federal Credit Unions or any other credit unions or
financial institutions that he places his income, salary, interest or investments under
his name or that of himself and his wife and any sheltered accounts in the name of
his two children, Sascha Gerber and Mischa Gerber.
Frederick E. Gerber,1I should be required and ordered to reveal any assets,
moneys or investments that exist off shore or out of this country especially in
Switzerland that have a connection to the above stated Trusts or moneys that were
funneled from the estates of Fred and Mildred Gerber from 1998 to present.
Frederick E. Gerber," should be ordered to sign an affidavit stating that he
is not aware or has any moneys related to the estates, Trusts or assets that were
from Fred E. Gerber,Sr. or Mildred J. Gerber that have not been disclosed and that
to Auditor William A. Duncan, Esquire and this Court that Frederick E Gerber,1I has
NEVER supplied any of the check (front and back) for the checking accounts of
Fred and Mildred Gerber from 1998 to their deaths. Frederick E Gerber,1I has never
made an accounting for the expenses which he controlled of a sizable pension,
social security and life insurance policies that Mildred J. Gerber received upon the
death of her spouse, Fred EGerber,Sr. on February 22,1998.
b. Although Frederick E Gerber, II does not have to declare the life
insurance policies in a letter of Testamentary, it is known to Marilyn Gerber that
Mildred J. Gerber received well over $60,000 from several life insurance policies.
There is NO ACCOUNTING as to where these moneys went, where they were
invested or if Frederick E Gerber,1I appropriated these moneys for himself or with
Jane Heflin.
c. Frederick E Gerber,1I has NEVER accounted as to where the
moneys that were inherited by Fred E Gerber,Sr. sister, Florence Gerber Cappe in
November 1997 were transferred to. These moneys were initially deposited into
the Fred E. Gerber,Sr. Trust and then were transferred out and allegedly given to
Mildred J. Gerber. These moneys were approximately $
d. The combined moneys from the Life Insurance policies and the
inheritance from Florence Cappe is over $100,000 and this money has never been
accounted for or has any declaration been made as to where this money has been
invested and when it will pour over into the Mildred J. Gerber.
e. Frederick E. Gerber,1I has NEVER accounted for the tangible items
that he and Jane Heflin took from the residence of the Gerber family from 1998 to
if any moneys were to be located that he would receive the appropriate legal
penalties to the full extent of this Court and the laws of this state and the Federal
government.
Respectfully submitted,
Marilyn Gerber, Pro Se
Dated: July 22,2005 via fax, mailed on July 22,2005
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Marilyn Gerber do hereby certify that a true and correct copy was
faxed to the counsel stated below of Auditor's Duncan's order on July 22,2005 and
that a copy was mailed on July 23,2005, postage prepaid by US Mail.
Richard Rupp,Equire
Lindsay Baird,Esquire
Jacqueline Verney
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