In re Estate of Pickelsimer

776 S.E.2d 216, 242 N.C. App. 582, 2015 N.C. App. LEXIS 697
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedAugust 18, 2015
DocketNo. COA14–1192.
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 776 S.E.2d 216 (In re Estate of Pickelsimer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Estate of Pickelsimer, 776 S.E.2d 216, 242 N.C. App. 582, 2015 N.C. App. LEXIS 697 (N.C. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

BRYANT, Judge.

*584Where caveators cannot establish prejudice as a result of the trial court's ruling excluding certain testimony, we find no prejudicial error. Where propounders, caveators, and the trial court all acknowledged during trial that propounders' "Last Will and *218Testament of Charles W. Pickelsimer, Jr., dated 17 August 2010" would be admitted into evidence as Exhibit 2, the trial court cannot be held to have abused its discretion in referring to the 17 August 2010 will as Propounders' Exhibit 2.

Charles W. Pickelsimer, Jr. (Charles or the decedent), was born on 25 May 1931. He was a resident of Transylvania County and was married to Ann B. Pickelsimer. They had two children, Lynn P. Williams and Charles W. Pickelsimer, III (Chuck). In the 1960s, Charles inherited from his father stock in a family telecommunications company, Citizen's Telephone Company. For Christmas, Charles often gave his children and grandchildren stock certificates in the company, certificates that accumulated over the years. In 2008, Charles began experiencing severe headaches. He was diagnosed with temporal arteritis and began experiencing significant memory lapses.

In December 2008, Charles sold the company. According to David Albertson, the executor of Charles's estate and an employee of Citizen's Telephone Company since 1963 and serving as secretary-treasurer controller since 1983, near the time of the sale, the company had accumulated cash reserves in the amount of $19 million. A dividend was declared and the cash was distributed to shareholders just before the company was sold. Charles' daughter, Lynn, and Lynn's daughter, Whitney A. Butterworth, held an aggregate of ten percent of the company stock. Likewise, Charles' son, Chuck, and his children, also held an aggregate of ten percent of the stock. The stock dividend distribution yielded Lynn and her daughter between $1.9 and $2 million, the same approximate yield that went to Chuck and his children. Citizen's Telephone Company was sold for $65 million. At the time of the sale, due to their aggregate stock holdings, Lynn and her daughter received approximately $6 million, as did Chuck and his children.

In 2009, Charles and his wife, Ann executed an estate plan designed to protect their assets and minimize estate taxes during conveyance. The 2009 Estate Plan included a will and a revocable trust (the "2009 Will" and the "2009 Trust"). Lynn, Chuck, and Whitney (caveators) were the primary beneficiaries of the 2009 Estate Plan.

*585In December 2009, Ann was diagnosed with cancer. Her health declined rapidly, and she died on 20 March 2010. In January 2010, just prior to Ann's death, Charles was diagnosed with mild dementia and memory loss. Following Ann's death, Charles's condition continued to decline. According to caveators, he became "increasingly erratic and paranoid. At times he was not oriented to time and place." Caveators alleged that during this time, Betty McCrary (friend of Charles Pickelsimer and former friend of the Pickelsimer family), Albertson, and possibly others forced themselves upon Charles in order to drive a wedge between him and his children, and that "one or more of these individuals told Decedent repeatedly that his children had stolen money from him and were trying to steal more...."

In April 2010, Charles' daughter Lynn learned that Charles had revoked the durable power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney held by her since Charles executed it in 2009. Then, in August 2010, Charles revoked the 2009 Estate Plan and executed a new 2010 Estate Plan consisting of a 2010 Will and a 2010 Trust. Charles Pickelsimer, Jr., died on 6 July 2011. Charles was survived by his two children, caveators Lynn P. Williams and Charles W. Pickelsimer, III, three grandchildren-including caveator Whitney A. Butterworth-and one great-grandchild.

On 11 July 2011, the Transylvania County Clerk of Court received a four-page document titled "Last Will and Testament of Charles W. Pickelsimer, Jr.," dated 17 August 2010. The Clerk of Court admitted the document to probate on 11 July 2011 and appointed David Albertson as Executor of decedent's estate. According to caveators, they only learned of the 2010 Will and 2010 Trust after Charles' death.

On 20 November 2012, in Transylvania County Superior Court, caveators Lynn P. Williams, Charles W. Pickelsimer, III (Chuck), and Whitney A. Butterworth, individually and on behalf of their minor and *219unborn issue, entered a caveat to the probate of the document titled "LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF CHARLES W. PICKELSIMER, JR.," dated 17 August 2010.

Caveators acknowledged that pursuant to the 2010 Will, David Albertson, Betty McCrary, Shelter Available for Family Emergency (SAFE), Inc., Brevard College, and Transylvania Hospital, Inc., (propounders) had an interest in Charles's estate. However, caveators allege that McCrary, Albertson, and others prevailed upon Charles to disinherit his children and grandchildren and instead benefit McCrary, Albertson, and others, and that they interfered with caveators' attempts to spend time with their father. Caveators charge that Charles's 2010 Will and *5862010 Trust "disinherit[s] his own family and leav[es] substantial assets instead to or for the benefit of Mr. Albertson, Ms. McCrary and others who were not the natural objects of his bounty." Caveators assert that "[t]he 2010 Will and 2010 Trust do not reflect the desires and wishes of [Charles Pickelsimer, Jr.]"

All propounders received a citation and notice of caveat, and all propounders except SAFE (Shelter Available for Family Emergency, Inc.) responded to the citation and notice of caveat.

A jury trial on the caveat proceeding was held in Transylvania County Superior Court during the 14 October 2013 Civil Session before the Honorable Anderson Cromer, Judge presiding. Extensive testimony was presented by both propounders and caveators. During the course of the proceeding, the last will and testament that Charles Pickelsimer, Jr., signed on 17 August 2010 was introduced as Exhibit 2. The trial court entered a directed verdict for propounders determining they had met their burden of proof required to establish that the challenged will was validly executed. The burden of proof then shifted to caveators to establish that the will was procured by undue influence. At the conclusion of all the evidence, the jury returned a unanimous verdict against the caveators, determining as a matter of fact that the execution of Propounders' Exhibit 2 was not procured by undue influence. Further, the jury found that "Propounders' Exhibit 2 and every essential part of it" was the last will and testament of Charles W. Pickelsimer, Jr. The trial court entered judgment on 6 December 2013 in accordance with the jury verdict and ordered that "[t]he document dated 17 August 2010, marked as Propounders' Exhibit 2 at trial, propounded for probate, and every part thereof, is the Last Will and Testament of Charles W. Pickelsimer, Jr., and it is hereby admitted to probate in solemn form."

Caveators moved for a new trial; however, on 30 December 2013, the trial court denied the motion for a new trial.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In re: Worley
Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
776 S.E.2d 216, 242 N.C. App. 582, 2015 N.C. App. LEXIS 697, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-pickelsimer-ncctapp-2015.