Goodhart Estate

12 Pa. D. & C.2d 403, 1957 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 270
CourtPennsylvania Orphans' Court, Cumberland County
DecidedAugust 5, 1957
Docketno. 36
StatusPublished

This text of 12 Pa. D. & C.2d 403 (Goodhart Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Orphans' Court, Cumberland County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goodhart Estate, 12 Pa. D. & C.2d 403, 1957 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 270 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1957).

Opinion

Jacobs, J.,

C. Anson Goodhart died February 17, 1939, leaving a will whereby, inter alia, he gave the net income of. his estate to his wife, Ida May Goodhart, during her natural lifetime and then provided as follows:

“Fourth: After the death of my said wife, I give and bequeath the said income of my estate, whatsoever and wheresoever, share and share alike to my three children, namely Florence Irene Meredith, [405]*405Charles Marion Goodhart and Wilbert Emig Good-hart, during their natural lifetime, and after the death of my said three children, I give and bequeath their share to their surviving children such amount as may be left of said shares absolutely.”

He appointed his three children to be the executors of his will and letters testamentary were issued to the three children by the register of wills in Cumberland County on March 15, 1939. By a paragraph in his will preceding the one in- which he appointed his executors he appointed Martha Jane Brown to act as treasurer for his executors and further directed “that my hereinafter named executors shall serve without compensation.”

When C. Anson Goodhart died he was survived by his aforementioned wife, and three children, and also by the following grandchildren: Martha Jane Brown Beedle and Berk Blaine Meredith, Jr., children of Florence Irene Meredith, Anson Rider Goodhart and Virginia Gertrude Goodhart, children of Charles Marion Goodhart, and Wilber Edward Goodhart, Winifred Kathleen Goodhart Mills and Ursula Joan Good-hart Griswell, children of Wilber Emig Goodhart (incorrectly designated as Wilbert in the will).

Ida May Goodhart, wife of testator, died February 18, 1953, and Florence Irene Meredith, one of the children, died January 26, 1955, survived by her above mentioned two children.

On June 27, 1955, by order of this court, Charles Marion Goodhart and Wilber Emig Goodhart were removed as surviving executors of the will of C. Anson Goodhart, deceased, and letters of administration d.b.n.c.t.a., were issued to the First National Bank of Shippensburg. In said order of court the surviving executors were directed to prepare and file an accounting. The surviving executors filed their first and par[406]*406tial. account on August 21, 1956. Numerous exceptions were filed to this account, and .on ■ October 9, 1956, George B. Stuart, Esq., was appointed auditor to dispose of the exceptions and to make distribution of income and principal.

Charles M. Goodhart filed exceptions to the auditor’s report. He objected to the finding of the auditor that he, Charles M. Goodhart, was not entitled to compensation for his services as executor and in preparing the account filed. He also objected to the conclusion of the auditor that the remainder interests of Martha Jane Brown Beedle and Berk Blaine Meredith, Jr., children of Florence Irene Meredith, deceased, are vested rather than contingent and the further conclusion that Martha Jane Brown Beedle and Berk Blaine Meredith, Jr., are presently each entitled to a one-sixth share of the income accrued from the date of their mother’s death and also a one-sixth share of the principal of the estate immediately. We will discuss first the problem of compensation for the executor, Charles M. Goodhart, and secondly the problem of distribution.

An executor is not required to accept his appointment, but having done so he is bound by the terms of the instrument appointing him as to his compensation : Hays’ Estate, 183 Pa. 296; Constable’s Estate, 299 Pa. 509; Kennedy Trust, 364 Pa. 310.

Charles M. Goodhart relies on Good’s Estate, 150 Pa. 301, as authority for allowing him commissions. In the Good case additional compensation was allowed by the auditor on the ground that, the words in the will limiting compensation were not imperative and the fund being a trust fund the trustee.was entitled to a commission outside of his executorship. Ip the instant case, the .direction, to serve without compen[407]*407sation is imperative and 'the trust was readily discernible at the time the appointment was accepted. In Hays’ Estate, above cited, the Supreme Court said:

“We held in Shippen v. Burd’s Executors, 42 Pa. 461, under a will which prescribed the method and the extent of the compensation which was to be received by the executors for all the services to be performed by them, the executors were bound by the provisions of the will in this respect. There was a trust to be executed in relation to certain real estate, and as to this the executors claimed additional compensation because they were acting as trustees which was a service outside of their duties as executors. But we held that although this was a trust the executors were bound to execute it as executors, and it was therefore a part of their duty as executors, and the compensation provided for them as executors must be regarded as conclusive upon them as to all duties which devolved upon them in the execution of the will.”

We are unable to find any unusual or extraordinary requirements imposed on the. exectfiors in this estate which would take this case out of the general rule that an executor is bound by the compensation fixed in the will. The testimony of’ Charles M. Goodhart in his own behalf shows that he helped to prepare the accounting. Preparing an accounting was certainly a normal function of an executor which had not been-done by the executors until they were ordered by the court to make an accounting. Raymond W. Lemaster, a business man in Shippensburg, and former State inheritance tax appraiser, was employed by the estate to prepare the accounting. This he did with the assistance of Charles M. Goodhart. Mr. Lemaster received $410 for his services, services which were properly part of the function of the executors. Certainly the filing of an account was one of the tasks which Mr. [408]*408Goodhart knew he would have to perform at some time when he accepted the trust.

In the Estate of Alfred Douden, deceased, 25 Dauph. 481, the will provided:

“I . . . appoint William Douden . . . , co-executor of this my last will and testament, he to serve without compensation.”

In disposing of William Douden’s request for compensation as such executor, the court said, page 485-486:

“In the settlement of this estate nothing has arisen except those circumstances contemplated by the will. There were no extraordinary requirements. . . .
“We are of the opinion that the executor having accepted the trust with full knowledge of the provisions of the will, that he was not to receive compensation for his services, undertook at the time to give his services gratuitously, and he cannot now ask for compensation; but is estopped from so doing.”

We conclude that Charles M. Goodhart is not entitled to any compensation for his services to the estate.

In the matter of distribution we do not need to discuss whether the remainder interests of Martha Jane Brown Beedle and Berk Blaine Meredith, Jr., children of deceased life tenant, Florence Irene Meredith, are vested or contingent because it was admitted by all parties concerned at the argument that the same are vested.

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Bluebook (online)
12 Pa. D. & C.2d 403, 1957 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 270, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goodhart-estate-paorphctcumber-1957.