In Re: Estate of Plance, A., Appeal of: Plance, T.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 8, 2015
Docket1379 WDA 2014
StatusUnpublished

This text of In Re: Estate of Plance, A., Appeal of: Plance, T. (In Re: Estate of Plance, A., Appeal of: Plance, T.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania 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 Plance, A., Appeal of: Plance, T., (Pa. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

J-A23013-15

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

IN RE: ESTATE OF ALFRED E. PLANCE, IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF JR., DECEASED PENNSYLVANIA

APPEAL OF: TIMOTHY W. PLANCE No. 1379 WDA 2014

Appeal from the Order July 22, 2014 In the Court of Common Pleas of Beaver County Orphans' Court at No(s): 04-13-00855

BEFORE: GANTMAN, P.J., LAZARUS, J., and MUSMANNO, J.

MEMORANDUM BY LAZARUS, J.: FILED DECEMBER 08, 2015

Timothy W. Plance appeals from the order entered in the Court of

Common Pleas of Beaver County, Orphans’ Court Division, that: (1)

declared that Joy Plance possesses superior title to the 146 acre farm known

as the Plance Farm (“Farm”); (2) revoked a prior order allowing the probate

of a photocopy of a will dated May 24, 2012; and (3) declared that Alfred E.

Plance (“Decedent”) died intestate. Upon careful review, we reverse and

remand for proceedings consistent with the dictates of this memorandum.

Decedent died on March 21, 2013, leaving a wife, Joy Plance (“Joy”),

and three children from his first marriage, Timothy Plance (“Timothy”),

Christopher Plance (“Christopher”) and Steven Plance (“Steven”). In 1990,

following his first wife’s death, Decedent became the sole owner of the Farm,

which is situated partly in Beaver County and partly in Washington County.

Decedent married Joy on April 25, 1994, after which time Joy sold her J-A23013-15

residence and invested $34,000 of the proceeds, plus $40,000 borrowed

from her father, to construct a boarding stable on the Farm. Decedent and

Joy operated the stable until approximately 2011 or 2012, when their health

failed.

On August 20, 2004, Decedent executed two land trust agreements for

the purpose of taking and holding title to the Farm. One trust was to hold

the portion of the Farm situated in Beaver County (“Beaver Trust”) and the

other was to hold the portion located in Washington County (“Washington

Trust”). Decedent and Timothy were each named 50% beneficiaries of the

trusts. That same day, Decedent executed two deeds with corresponding

real estate transfer tax forms, one transferring the Beaver County portion of

the Farm to the Beaver Trust and the other transferring the Washington

County portion to the Washington Trust. The trust documents and deeds

were prepared by and executed in the presence of Lawrence Bolind, Esquire,

who also notarized them. The deeds were given to Decedent but never

recorded.

On April 26, 2006, Decedent executed two deeds purporting to

transfer the Farm to himself and Joy as tenants by the entireties. Decedent

executed the deeds as grantor in his individual capacity and not as trustee of

the land trust agreements. Both deeds were recorded.

In 2012, Decedent and Joy executed an Oil, Gas and Coalbed Methane

Lease with respect to the entire 146 acre Farm in favor of Range Resources-

-2- J-A23013-15

Appalachia, LLC, and in return received a check in the amount of

$439,650.00, payable to Decedent and Joy as owners by the entireties.

In the Spring of 2012, Decedent was hospitalized and, upon his

release, Timothy and his wife, Shawna, made an appointment with their

attorney, Michael Werner, Esquire, for Decedent to execute a new will and

other estate planning documents. Timothy and Shawna accompanied

Decedent to meet with Attorney Werner. During the meeting, Decedent

showed Attorney Werner copies of the land trust agreements and deeds

from 2004, as well as the 2006 deeds from himself to himself and Joy.

Decedent also expressed concern regarding the disposition of the check from

Range Resources.1 Attorney Werner, being of the opinion that the 2004

deeds had effectively transferred the Farm to the trusts, advised Decedent

to request a stop-payment order on the Range Resources check because

Decedent and Joy, the payees named on the check, were not the true

owners of the Farm. Attorney Werner also testified that he advised

Decedent to record the 2004 deeds, but that doing so would “open up a very

large can of worms from which it would be very difficult to turn back.” N.T.

Trial, 5/19/14, at 42.

____________________________________________

1 Attorney Werner testified that Decedent told him the check had been mailed to the residence he shared with Joy during the time he had been hospitalized. Decedent “voiced serious concern about Joy obtaining that check and his inability to access the . . . funds moving forward” due to problems in Decedent’s relationship with Joy. N.T. Trial, 5/19/14, at 11.

-3- J-A23013-15

Attorney Werner prepared a will and other documents for Decedent

based upon their discussion and Decedent returned, accompanied by

Shawna Plance, to execute the documents on May 24, 2012. The will

executed by Decedent included $1,000 bequests to each of his sons and

gave the residue to Timothy, with a gift over to Christopher. The will gave

nothing to Joy. Decedent named Timothy as his executor. Shawna testified

that Decedent gave to her the originals of the executed estate planning

documents and she placed them in a plastic file box, which remained in her

possession until August 2012.

Following the execution of Decedent’s estate planning documents,

Attorney Werner received several phone calls from Shawna Plance and

Decedent in which they gave him changing instructions as to stopping

payment on the Range Resources check and recording the 2004 deeds.

Ultimately, on July 9, 2012, Decedent instructed Attorney Werner not to

proceed further with the trusts, deeds or stopping payment on the check and

requested that Attorney Werner return to him the originals and all copies of

all documents in his possession. Attorney Werner did so on that same day.2

2 Attorney Werner testified that, according to the cover letter he sent to Decedent, the following documents were returned to Decedent: (1) an original and one copy of the Beaver County land trust agreement; (2) an original and one copy of the unrecorded 2004 Beaver County deed; (3) a copy of the recorded 2006 Beaver County deed; (4) an original Washington County land trust agreement; (5) an original and one copy of the unrecorded 2004 Washington County deed; (6) a copy of the recorded 2006 Washington (Footnote Continued Next Page)

-4- J-A23013-15

In early August 2012, Decedent asked Shawna to give him the plastic

box containing his estate planning documents. Joy testified that when

Decedent returned home with the box, he told her that he, Timothy and

Shawna had had a falling out. She further testified that Decedent took the

plastic container out to the trash burner and burned its contents.

After Decedent’s death in March 2013, the original 2012 will could not

be located. Accordingly, Timothy filed a petition to probate a photocopy of

the will. Joy did not file a response to the petition. After a hearing which

was not transcribed, at which Joy’s counsel appeared to object to the prayer

of the petition, the Orphans’ Court concluded that the will “has been lost and

misplaced and that the testator has not destroyed the original with the

intention of revocation” and directed that the copy be admitted to probate.

Timothy was granted Letters Testamentary on October 2, 2013.

On November 21, 2013, Timothy filed a petition with the Orphans’

Court, alleging that Joy had either taken or refused to disclose the location

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