Estate of: Scheerbaum, B., Appeal of: Jackman, D.

• Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: December 23, 2025
• Docket: 1331 WDA 2024
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

J-A26032-25

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT O.P. 65.37

IN RE: ESTATE OF BONNIE M. : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF SCHEERBAUM, DECEASED : PENNSYLVANIA : : APPEAL OF: DONALD G. JACKMAN, : JR. : : : : No. 1331 WDA 2024

Appeal from the Order Entered October 1, 2024 In the Court of Common Pleas of Butler County Orphans’ Court at No(s): O.C. No. 114 of 2023

BEFORE: OLSON, J., STABILE, J., and KING, J.

JUDGMENT ORDER BY KING, J.: FILED: December 23, 2025

Appellant, Donald G. Jackman, appeals from the order entered in the

Butler County Court of Common Pleas Orphans’ Court, which granted the

motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by the Estate of Bonnie M.

Scheerbaum, Deceased (“Estate”), and dismissed Appellant’s objections to the

first and final account of the Estate.1 Upon review, we remand this matter to

the Orphans’ Court.

Briefly, on May 8, 2023, following the death of his mother, the

Deceased, Appellant filed a claim against her Estate seeking reimbursement

for three classic cars which he alleges the Deceased wrongfully sold while he

was imprisoned in 2004. The Estate filed a first and final account on April 1,

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1 On September 25, 2025, this Court granted the application of Colleen Sahli

and Michael Sahli (“Intervenors”) to intervene in this matter. J-A26032-25

2024, to which Appellant filed objections on May 13, 2024. The Orphans’

Court conducted a hearing on September 5, 2024, after which the Estate filed

a motion for judgment on the pleadings. On October 1, 2024, the court

entered an order granting the Estate’s motion for judgment on the pleadings

and dismissing Appellant’s objections to the first and final account. Appellant

filed a timely notice of appeal on October 29, 2024.

Following receipt of this Court’s letter providing the Orphans’ Court with

a copy of the docket in the above appeal, the Orphans’ Court sent a letter

informing this Court that it had not been served with a notice of appeal related

to this matter.2 As a result, the Orphans’ Court explained it did not intend to

issue an order per Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) or to provide a Rule 1925(a) opinion.

Initially, we note that Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 906(a)

requires that, concurrently with filing a notice of appeal under Rule 905, an

appellant must serve copies of the notice of appeal on several entities,

including the trial court. See Pa.R.A.P. 906(a).3 This Court has explained

that “[w]hen an appellant fails to serve the notice of appeal on the trial court

2 The certified record contains an affidavit of service from the registrar of wills

of Butler County, explaining that on October 30, 2024, the registrar of wills served the notice of appeal upon counsel for the Estate. Nothing in the certified record indicates that the Orphans’ Court was served with a copy of the notice of appeal.

3 Rule 906 states: “Concurrently with the filing of the notice of appeal under

Pa.R.A.P. 905, the appellant shall serve copies thereof … upon: ... (2) The judge of the court below, whether or not the reasons for the order appealed from already appear of record[.]” Pa.R.A.P. 906(a)(2).

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per Rule 906(a)(2), this Court has discretion to take any appropriate action,

including remand to the trial court for the completion of omitted procedural

steps.” Coffman v. Kline, 167 A.3d 772, 776 (Pa.Super. 2017), appeal

denied, 645 Pa. 698, 182 A.3d 433 (2018) (quoting Casselbury v. American

Food Service, 30 A.3d 510, 511 n.1 (Pa.Super. 2011)). See also

Casselbury, supra at 511 n.1 (explaining that remand was not necessary

where trial court had issued opinion accompanying its order that explained

court’s reasoning).

Generally, once an appeal is filed the trial court will direct an appellant

to file a Rule 1925(b) statement of the issues complained of on appeal so that

it may comply with Rule 1925(a)’s mandate to provide this Court with a

statement of reasons for its rulings. See Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) (stating that

“upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the judge who entered the order giving

rise to the notice of appeal, if the reasons for the order do not already appear

of record, shall…file of record at least a brief opinion of the reasons for the

order, or for the rulings or other errors complained of, or shall specify in

writing the place in the record where such reasons may be found”).

Here, because the Orphans’ Court was not served with Appellant’s notice

of appeal, it did not issue a Rule 1925(b) order or file a Rule 1925(a) opinion.

As such, we do not have the benefit of an opinion explaining the reasons for

the Orphans’ Court’s order. Accordingly, we remand this case for the Orphans’

Court to permit Appellant to file and serve a Rule 1925(b) statement within

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21 days of the date of the return of the record to the Orphans’ Court.4 We

further direct the Orphans’ Court to issue an opinion pursuant to Rule 1925(a)

addressing the issues raised in Appellant’s Rule 1925(b) statement. The

Orphans’ Court shall have 45 days from the date of the filing of Appellant’s

Rule 1925(b) statement of errors to file its opinion. Following the filings of

the Orphans’ Court’s Rule 1925(a) opinion, the parties shall promptly advise

this Court whether they wish to file supplemental briefs or if they will rely on

the briefs previously filed. Should the parties notify this Court of an intent to

file supplemental briefs, this Court will issue a briefing schedule thereafter.

Case remanded for further proceedings. Panel jurisdiction is retained.

4We decline to quash Appellant’s appeal based on his failure to serve the Orphans’ Court with a copy of the notice of appeal. See Coffman, supra.

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