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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-01-78 ESTATE OF NAN W. SCHOCH IN THE COURT OF CO~MON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AN ALLEGED INCOMPETENT ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION 555 ORPHANS' 1978 TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS RE: PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN OF ESTATE BEFORE : HONORABLE HAROLD E. SHEELY DATE: November 1, 1978 10:00 A.M. PLACE: Courtroom No. 2 Cumberland County Courthouse Carlisle, Pennsylvania COUNSEL PRESENT: JERRY WEIGLE, Esquire ESTATE OF NAN W. SCHOCH IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA AN ALLEGED INCOMPETENT ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION 555 ORPHANS' 1978 TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS RE: PETITION FOR APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN OF ESTATE BEFORE: HONORABLE HAROLD E. SHEELY DATE: November 1, 1978 10:00 A.M. PLACE: Courtroom No. 2 Cumberland County Courthouse Carlisle, Pennsylvania COUNSEL PRESENT: JERRY WEIGLE, Esquire INDEX TO WITNESSES MR. WEIGLE William A. Nickles, M.D. 4 Nancy B. Seeds 7 COURT 6 11 -2- November 1, 1978 Carlisle, Pennsylvania MR. WEIGLE: May it please the Court, this is the time and place set for a hearing on the petitions of Nancy B. Seeds for the appointment of guardians for the property of Louis T. Schoch and Nan W. Schoch. I regret to inform the Court at this time that Louis T. Schoch passed away on October the 13th. So that Mrs. Seeds' petition as to Mr. Schoch would be withdrawn. With respect to the petition for the appointment of guardian for Nan W. Schoch, I would like to make the following amendments to the petition as it has been filed. In paragraph seven of the petition: Louis T. Schoch having passed on would no longer be an heir. In addition to paragraph seven there was a nephew, H. Scott Young, who was omitted from th~ list of heirs in the petition. Mr. Young has been notified. And in my affidavit of service of notice, I do have a return receipt card back from him. Also in paragraph six of the petition, all of the assets that are listed jointly as being owned by Nan W. Schoch and Louis T. Schoch as being jointly owned, of course, would now obviously be solely owned by Nan Schoch. There is one additional item, if it is relevant to the proceeding. In paragraph six (N) there is listed several -3- , i:j , iI diamond rings. We have estimated a value there of $3,500. Those rings have now been appraised and the value is $2,050. THE COURT: We will admit those amendments to the petition. MR. WEIGLE: At this time I would like to introduce to the Court, Nancy B. Seeds and her husband, Mr. Seeds, and Dr. William A. Nickles of Shippensburg. At this time I would like to call Dr. Nickles to the stand. WILLIAM A. NICKLES, M.D., called as a witness, being first duly sworn according to law, testified as follows: BY MR. WEIGLE: Q Dr. Nickles, where do you reside? A Shippensburg. Q You are a medical doctor? A That's right. Q How long have you been in practice, sir? A Since 1945. Q Could you briefly describe for the Court your education and professional background? THE COURT:. We will accept his qualifications. -4- BY MR. WEIGLE: Q How long has Nan W. Schoch been a patient of yours? A Since 1955. Q Could you describe for the Court her medical history? A Basically, she has been in reasonably good health over the years except for essential hypertension. And about fifteen years ago, she suffered a slipped intervertebral disk, which did limit her physical activities to some extent. This was a mechanical problem. But the hypertension was the big problem. Q Could you describe her present medical condition for the Court? A Presently she is quite senile. She is not totally aware of her present situation. She doesn't, I think, recognize the fact just what her circumstances are. She knows she is not at home, but she is not sure where she is. She is going home tomorrow. This is her attitude. Q Is she physically able to appear in Court this morning? A No. Q Why is she not able to appear? A Well, first of all, she is confined to a wheelchair. Q What is your opinion as to her ability to manage her own property? A I think that's impossible. I don't think she can. -5-, Q Would she be liable to dissipate her property or become the victim of designing persons in your opinion? A Very easily. Q Why is that your opinion? A Simply because she isn't aware of her situation. She doesn't recognize she recognizes people. She knew me when I went in to see her several weeks ago. But she doesn't know what's going on around her. Q Does Mrs. Schoch in your opinion have sufficient capacity to make or communicate re~ponsible decisions concerning her personal property? A No. Q Do you' recommend tb this Court that it appoint a guardian of the property of Nan Schoch? A Yes, indeed. MR. WEIGLE: That is all I have, Your Honor. BY THE COURT: Q Doctor, for the record, would you give us your first name and middle initial? A William A. Nickles. Q In your best medical judgment, do you feel that ~1rs. Schoch will probably have to be confined to some type of a home for the rest of her life? -6- A Yes. Q Was she able to attend her husband's funeral, do you know? A No. THE COURT: I think that covers it very well, Mr. Weigle. MR. WEIGLE: We ask that Dr. Nickles be excused. THE COURT: Yes, he may. MR. WEIGLE: I call Nancy Seeds to the stand, please. NANCY B. SEEDS, called as a witness, being first duly sworn according to law, testified as follows: BY MR. ~vEIGLE: Q Mrs. Seeds, would you state your full name for the record, please? A Nancy B. Seeds. Q Where do you reside? A 305 Berkeley Road, Merion Station, Pennsylvania. Q Now, Mrs. Seeds, you are the petitioner in this matter, is that correct? A Correct. -7- Q What is your relationship to Nan Schoch? A I am her niece. Q Are there any heirs other than the next of kin that have been listed in paragraph seven in your petition who are heirs of Nan Schoch, outside of H. Scott Young, who I have already noted? A Right, Captain Young. To my knowledge, there are no others. Q Where does Nan Schoch presently reside? A The Leader Nursing Center in Chambersburg. Q Do you know her age? A Eighty-seven. Q Why has she taken up residence in the Leader Home? A She was incapable of taking care of herself, and her husband was incapable either. Q Have you had an opportunity to see Hrs. Schoch at the Leader Home? A Oh, yes, indeed. Q On more than one occasion? A Oh, yes, indeed. Q How long has she been in the Leader Home? A At the end of July. Q Of this year? A Of this year. -8- Q Did you also have occasion to see Mrs. Schoch prior to her entry into the home? A Yes, I have seen her. Q What was her condition prior to entering the Leader Home? A Well, I hadn't seen her for a few months. My reason for coming to Shippensburg was a phone call that made no sense. Q A phone call? A From me to her. And I could not comprehend anything that she said or what was going on. a What was your observation of her when you did see her? A Very bad, very bad. By the time I got to Shippensburg, she was in the Chambersburg Hospital. And she had no control over her body and was very confused. Q And then she subsequently took up residence in the Leader Home? A Absolutely. 9 Could youdescribe~her condition as you have observed it since she has be~n in the home? A Since she has been in the home, she has physically improved, but. mentally, no. . She isn't walking. She has difficulty with her feet and is in a very weakened condition. Q What about her mental faculties? -9- I' " '" ,$' A No. She is confused. She talks about her parents and asks me have I been to see them. And her deceased sister, have I seen her. I just agree that I have. Q What in your opinion is her ability to manage her own property today? A There would be no way. Q Are you familiar with the property and financial affairs of Nan Schoch? A Yes, I do know. Q How did you become familiar with those affairs? A Through the bank's accounting and your help too. Q Is the listing of income and assets as we have stated in paragraph five of your petition true and correct as far as you know? A As far as I know, yes. Q You have no additional changes to offer at this time? A No, sir. Q Do you approve of the First National Bank of Shippensburg being named guardian of the property of Nan W. Schoch? A From the little bit of business I have had with them, I thoroughly approve. MR. WEIGLE: I have nothing further, Your Honor. -10- BY THE COURT: Q Just for the recordl,the petitioner alleges that Mrs. Schoch is eighty-seven years of age, having been born on January 14, 1891, is that correct, to ,tl1e best of your knowledge and belief? A Yes. Q I notice on the petition that the closest next of kin would probably be the two brothers and a sister, is that correct? A Yes, sir. Q The two brothers live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the sister lives at Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. That's Mrs. Young, do you know her? A That's my mother. Q That is your mother? A Yes. Q Have you been in contact with any of the brothers since this hearing date has been set concerning the hearing itself? A Gus and Albert, yes. Q So they do know that we are having this hearing? A They know I am here right now. THE COURT: That is all. -11- BY MR. WEIGLE: Q Mrs. Seeds, with respect to H. Scott Young, who was not listed in the petition as it was filed, have you had con- versation with him relative to this hearing? A Yes, indeed. I talk to him at least once a week. He is my brother. Q He is aware of this hearing? A He knows I am here today too. MR. WEIGLE: Thank you very much. Your Honor, I have no further testimony to offer at this time. I would like to submit to the Court an affidavit of service showing that I personally served Nan Schoch with notice, with a copy of the petition notice, copy of the citation, on October 11, 1978, and an affidavit also, sworn by me to the effect that certified mailings of the notice of the petition and copies of the petition were mailed to everyone stated in paragraph seven of the petition and also to H. Scott Young, and a proposed final decree. The First National Bank of Shippensburg is also the executor utider the last will and testament of Louis Schoch also. THE COURT: I guess there would be no assets passing through his estate? MR. WEIGLE: There would be sufficient assets. The -12- ~ petitions are practically the same, Your Honor, except there is one account, I believe the account is near the end of the list of the joint assets. Paragraph five (R) of the petition on page three, Cumberland Valley Savings arid Loan Association account which was in Louis Schoch's name only. And the amount there was almost $2,300. And that would be the only asset that was not jointly owned between the two of them. THE COURT: He was also in the Leader Nursing Home. There might be some bills there to be paid. MR. WEIGLE: He was a resident of South Mountain Restoration Center at the time of his passing. The information that we have is that he was entitled to some care at that Institution without any expense to his family. I have been in touch with the home, and they indicate that there would be no or little expense in that regard. (Whereupon, the Court entered an appropriate order.) (Whereupon, Court adjourned at 10:16 A.M.) -13- I ... f' " ESTATE OF NAN W. SCHOCH AN ALLEGED INCOMPETENT IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION 555 ORPHANS' 1978 I hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on the hearing of the above cause and that this is a correct transcript of same. l'< ~ <i)~tV!tdll~ Barbara E. Nickolas Official Stenographer The foregoing record of the proceedings upon the hearing of the above cause is hereby approved and directed to be filed. m~ ~I Jct7f1 Date J. -14-