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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-28-06 ( . IN RE: : IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF ESTATE OF CARRIE A SIllVEL Y,: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Deceased ORPHANS COURT DNISION Late of Newville Borough NO. 2005 -00519 1. o c: EXECUTOR'S RESPONSE TO;;:S ~ OBJECTIONS TO PROPOSED FIRST AND FINAL ACCOUNT f'] ~E (") ),: 5f [jj Admitted. [5 ~~ x ,-) C:) 0 ..J ('.:: ~ ~ Admitted that no accounting was filed by March 21, 2006, but the ~n I ditlv :;.:~ -. N OJ 2. not file the accounting by that date was that I had filed the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return on March 10, 2006, and was not in a position to file any accounting until the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue either accepted or refused the inheritance tax return as filed. 3. Admitted. 4. Admitted. 5. Admitted. 6. Admitted as stated, but at the time I believed that the first complete advertisement ofletters had occurred because I had written a check for $85.00 to the Cumberland Law Journal in June, 2005, and mailed it along with a request that the grant of letters be advertised. 7. Admitted. I have reviewed bank statements for the estate account, and the check for $85 to Cumberland Law Journal has not been paid. 8. Admitted. I will send a check for $85 made payable to the estate beneficiaries to their attorney when I send him a copy of this Response. r-...J = c::.";J 0-. "" qj N Q) ::o,~i f'(') C) (,'? (~ ( r;. ,7:) ..., c-; :--:;1 f n -.0 c::::J t. ) ""i'] -" (~) nl ~;-2 , i ; 9. Admitted. 10. Admitted! 11. Denied. To the contrary, I verbally informed Betty Stouffer at the funeral services for the decedent (graveside services in February, 2005) that she and her husband were named sole beneficiaries in Carrie Shively's will and that they would have the decedent's real estate on Fairfield Street conveyed to them, would get all the personal p property, and would receive any balance of cash in the estate after all bills were paid. 12. Admitted. 13. Admitted. 14. Denied. I believe the Stouffers learned of their status as beneficiaries as I stated it in paragraph 11. Paragraph 11 is incorporated by reference herein as though set forth at length. 15. Admitted. However, any person could obtain a copy of decedent's will upon request to the Register of Wills. The Stouffers could have obtained a copy of the will from me by a simple phone call. 16. Admitted only that the expense of $75 was an unnecessary expense to the Stouffers. Denied that I should be surcharged for this unnecessary expense. At all times relevant herein, Betty Stouffer worked in the Borough of Carlisle approximately 3 blocks from the Courthouse, and she could have obtained a copy of the will at any time for a cost of $.50 per page (about $1.50) from the Register of Wills. 2 17. Admitted only that I filed the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return and paid the tax due and owing, on May 10, 2006, and that the return was accepted as filed by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Denied that my filing was due solely to the filing of any Court petition. 18. Denied that I neglected my fiduciary duties in the administration of this estate. Denied that I failed to communicate with the estate beneficiaries. I spoke to both of them at the funeral, and, in the ensuing months, I had a number of telephone conversations with Betty Stouffer about the estate. I had a meeting with Albert Stouffer at my residence, when he came there to talk about the estate. I conveyed the decedent's real estate to the Stouffers on December 6, 2005 (valued for inheritance tax purposes at $63,160); I turned over possession of all personal property of decedent (valued for inheritance tax purposes at $680) to the Stouffers also on December 6, 2005, when I completed the real estate settlement and transferred possession of the real estate to them. 19. Denied. I believe the fee charged for services during the administration of this estate is fair and reasonable. I believe that similar services by Betty Stouffer's law firm and attorney (Saidis Flower & Lindsay; Thomas Flower), or similar services by any personal representative and/or attorney in Cumberland County would be significantly higher that the fee I charged. I prepared and conducted the real estate settlement of decedent's real estate. I paid estate bills. I obtained an acceptable appraisal of decedent's personal property. I prepared and filed a Pennsylvania inheritance tax return, accepted as filed ;by 3 the Department of Revenue. I prepared and filed a first and final account. I did not employ an attorney and, therefore, did not pay any attorney fees from estate funds. 20. Denied. In my opinion, Betty Stouffer is not entitled to have me pay her attorney fees. There are no statements in the objections to demonstrate, first of all, that the claimed attorney fees are reasonable. The assets of the estate were almost entirely distributed (real estate and personal property distributed December 5, 2005) to the Stouffers before any attorney fees were allegedly incurred. Whatever the Stouffers' attorney did, it is apparent that he mailed any work product to an incorrect and non-existent mailing address for me, the result of which was that I never received documents and letters from him. This, despite the fact that I told him on March 2, 2006, that I had not received his first petition and that, perhaps, he should verify a correct address in the future. In fact, I told him to send anything further to my home address. Denied that I have been guilty of any dilatory, obdurate and vexatious conduct in this matter. WHEREFORE, I ask this Court to dismiss all Objections as filed. September 28, 2006 J cCrea, Executor 2 1 oubling Gap Road P. . Box 341 Newville, PAQ 17241 Telephone (717) 776-6656 4 . VERIFICATION I verify that the facts set forth in the foregoing Response to Objections to Proposed First and Final Account are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief. I understand that false statements made herein are subject to the penalties of 18 Pa. C.S. A. ~ 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities. 1{U(06 r-- ML-~ McCrea Dated: 5