The Delaware County Orphans Court recently decided that the adult son of a decedent should be compensated for the sale of a property that was devised to him in the decedent's will, even though it had been sold by the decedent's court appointed guardian earlier.
The decedent in this case was the mother of Alfred, Francis and Adele Rich. The decedent's will left her two N.J. vacation homes valued at $650,000. to Francis and Adele. She left a third property in Clifton Heights, valued at $125,000., to Alfred. Alfred was given the less valuable property because he allegedly stole money from his mother by taking mortgages against her property without her knowledge, used her money to pay his credit card bills, and purchased a gold coin with her money which he kept for himself.
In 2008 the court stepped in and appointed a local attorney as guardian for the mother. In order to meet the expenses of his ward, and after getting court approval for the sale, the guardian sold the Clifton Heights property for $115,000. Because of this sale, the other children received the New Jersey properties upon the death of the decedent in 2011, but since the Clifton Heights property had been sold, Alfred did not receive anything.
Although the weight of authority seemed to be against him, Alfred brought a petition in Delaware County Orphans Court. In January of 2015 the court, exercising it's equitable powers, awarded part of the estate to him. The verdict awarded him the sale price of the Clifton Heights property, less the costs of the sale and less the money he owed his mother from his previous mis appropriation of her funds for personal use. The case caption was CP 63 of 2008, and the decision was made by Hon. Chad Kenney.
Note: The case illustrates the benefits of having estate documents drafted by experienced counsel, and why we caution our clients against specific bequests of real estate. An agent under a power of attorney or a court appointed guardian is usually compelled to sell assets of the estate to meet principal's day to day living expenses. An experienced attorney realizes this and drafts documents with that in mind, to avoid any later disproportionate bequest to beneficiaries.
Robert Gasparro
