Estate of Peter A. Turcic Sr.

2017 ME 118, 164 A.3d 134, 2017 WL 2470953, 2017 Me. LEXIS 117

• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
• Decided: June 8, 2017
• Status: Published

Opinion

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions Decision: 2017 ME 118 Docket: Som-16-332 Submitted On Briefs: May 25, 2017 Decided: June 8, 2017

Panel: SAUFLEY, C.J., and ALEXANDER, GORMAN, JABAR, HJELM, and HUMPHREY, JJ.

ESTATE OF PETER A. TURCIC SR.

JABAR, J.

[¶1] Patricia A. Turcic appeals from separate orders of the Somerset

County Probate Court (Washburn, J.) removing her as personal representative

of the Estate of Peter A. Turcic Sr., and appointing Attorney J. Michael Talbot

as personal representative. Patricia’s brief fails to raise an intelligible or

cognizable legal argument,1 but to the extent that her appeal seeks to vacate

her removal as personal representative of the Estate, we affirm the court’s

order.

[¶2] The following procedural history is found in the probate record.

See Estate of O’Brien-Hamel, 2014 ME 75, ¶ 2, 93 A.3d 689. Peter A. Turcic Sr.

died intestate on October 15, 2013. He is survived by his daughter, Patricia

Turcic, and his son, Peter A. Turcic Jr. Patricia was appointed by the Somerset

1 Patricia also failed to file an appendix that complies with M.R. App. P. 8. Nor did she file a

transcript of the hearing held upon the motion to remove her as personal representative. See M.R. App. P. 5(a), (b)(2). 2

County Register of Probate as personal representative of the Estate on

November 12, 2013.

[¶3] Melvin W. Christie and Ronald W. Christie, Patricia’s uncle and

cousin, respectively, filed a petition for appointment of a guardian and

conservator on behalf of Peter Jr. on July 22, 2015. They alleged that Peter Jr.

suffers from schizophrenia, is unable to care for himself, and that although he

had been residing at Peter Sr.’s former home in Palmyra with Patricia, Patricia

is unable to appropriately care for him. The Somerset County Probate Court

(Washburn, J.) granted the Christies’ motion and appointed them conservators

of Peter Jr. The Christies subsequently requested removal of Patricia as

personal representative of the Estate.

[¶4] On April 28, 2016, the court removed Patricia as representative.

Attorney J. Michael Talbot was appointed as representative of the Estate on

July 20, 2016. Patricia timely appealed Attorney Talbot’s appointment. See

M.R. App. P. 2(b)(3).

[¶5] “The Probate Court has broad discretion in removing or declining

to remove a personal representative and its decision is reviewed for an abuse

of that discretion.” Estate of Voignier, 609 A.2d 704, 707 (Me. 1992). The

record demonstrates that Patricia never filed a motion for findings of fact 3

pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 52(a). See M.R. Prob. P. 52 (stating that M.R. Civ. P. 52

applies to Probate Court proceedings). When a party fails to file a Rule 52

motion for specific factual findings, we “assume that a trial court found all of

the facts necessary to support its judgment.” Ehret v. Ehret, 2016 ME 43, ¶ 9,

135 A.3d 101. Because Patricia has not provided a transcript for our review

or filed a Rule 52 motion for specific factual findings, and because we hold pro

se litigants to the same standards as represented litigants, see Richards v.

Bruce, 1997 ME 61, ¶ 8, 691 A.2d 1223, we affirm the court’s decision to

remove Patricia as personal representative of her father’s estate.

The entry is:

Judgment affirmed.

Patricia A. Turcic, appellant pro se

J. Michael Talbot, Esq., Mills, Shay, Lexier & Talbot, P.A., Skowhegan, for appellee Estate of Peter A. Turcic Sr.

Somerset County Probate Court docket number 2013-268 FOR CLERK REFERENCE ONLY