Kuhns Estate

4 Pa. D. & C.4th 422, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 143
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Westmoreland County
DecidedMay 4, 1989
Docketno. 65-86-750
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Pa. D. & C.4th 422 (Kuhns Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Westmoreland County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kuhns Estate, 4 Pa. D. & C.4th 422, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 143 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1989).

Opinion

MIHALICH, P.J.,

This difficult matter comes before the court on exceptions to the schedule of distribution in the estate of Barry Lee Kuhns raised by his natural father, Arthur B. Kuhns. While the matter is not one free of doubt, the court is convinced that the exceptions of Arthur Kuhns must be dismissed.

Barry Lee Kuhns died intestate on April 8, 1986. He left behind neither spouse nor issue, and was survived only by his parents, Mary Kuhns and Arthur B. Kuhns, and three brothers.. Mary and Arthur have been divorced for many years and Arthur and Barry did not enjoy a close relationship throughout Barry’s lifetime.

Approximately one week after the death of Barry Kuhns, Arthur Kuhns met with two of his sons, John and Thomas, at the residence of Barry Kuhns. During this meeting, Arthur and his sons examined Barry’s residence, walking from room to room taking an unofficial inventory of its contents. From the testimony, it is clear that Arthur knew that his [423]*423deceased son was the owner of this home, although he also believed that a mortgage encumbered it, and he also believed that his son had owned liquid assets such as bank accounts, cash and savings bonds.

At the time of this meeting, Arthur Kuhns executed documents renouncing his right to co-administer the estate of Barry Kuhns with Mary and also executed the document which is the subject of the present controversy. This document, hand-drawn by his son John, stated as follows:

“I, Arthur B. Kuhns father of deceased Barry Lee Kuhns of 2705 Raymond Ave., Latrobe, Pa. wish to receive the following from his estate:
“1984 Datsun King Cab pickup with cap
“1 homemade cross bow
“1 lawn mower
“1 gun (snub nose blank)
“Miscellaneous fishing equipment
“In receiving the above items, I wish to relinquish all claims to his estate. The remaining assets shall go to his mother Mary Kuhns for her to do with as she sees fit.
“/s/ Arthur B. Kuhns
“/s/ Mary Kuhns
“Witness: /s/ Neil A. Brant
“Witness: /s/ Roxanne L. Ament
“Notary: /s/ Judith R. Moffat”

While the testimony on this point was somewhat conflicting, the court concludes that Arthur Kuhns was fully aware of the nature of this document as well as its effect of denying him the opportunity to claim anything further from the estate of his deceased son. This conclusion is based upon the court’s consideration not only of the testimonies of the members of the Kuhns family present when the document was drawn, read, and executed, but also [424]*424upon the testimony of Neil Brant, a neighbor who was present when the document was read to Arthur Kuhns and when Arthur acknowledged his understanding of its contents and import. There is no evidence that this document was executed by an individual mentally or physically incapable of appreciating the significance of it; nor is there any evidence of undue influence or duress resulting in its execution. Counsel for Arthur Kuhns has also withdrawn from this court’s consideration the issue of fraud, acknowledging that the evidence simply will not support that finding.

At some point after the execution of this document, Arthur Kuhns decided that he had made an unwise choice in signing it. The gross value of the estate of Barry Kuhns was determined to be $46,036.92, which included the net proceeds of the sale of the home in which this document was executed. Those net proceeds amount to $32,364.81, the gross sale price being $46,000, less a mortgage of $12,245.62 and closing costs of $1,389.57. The total net assets of the estate of Barry Lee Kuhns were valued at $35,830.87, of which one-half would have been the share of Arthur B. Kuhns had he not executed the subject document.

The parties have struggled to classify the subject document in a category common to law of decedents’ estates in Pennsylvania. Initially, we must consider whether the document is a disclaimer under section 6201 of Title 20 Pa.C.S.

Under section 6201, an individual who stands to acquire an interest in property through operation of intestate succession may disclaim that interest by executing a written disclaimer which is to meet three criteria. The disclaimer shall: (1) describe the interest disclaimed; (2) declare the disclaimer and extent thereof; and (3) be. signed by the disclaim-[425]*425ant. In the present case, the document appears to satisfy sections 2 and 3 of section 6201, leaving only the question of whether it otherwise satisfied section 1.

Able counsel for the parties have been unable to cite the court to controlling precedent for the interpretation of this section in Pennsylvania law. The court also has had a difficult time in discerning controlling precedent since those cases which generally discuss the renunciation, release or disclaimer of an interest such as this either relate to issues other than the one presented here, see In re Zindel’s Estate, 23 D.&C. 3d 282 (1982), or have been decided under older versions of the statute giving little authoritative insight to the court as to the current interpretation of its language. See In re Becker’s Estate, 352 Pa. 452, 43 A.2d 4 (1945); Dorn Estate, 12 Pa. Fiduc. 439 (1962); Days Estate, 55 D.&C. 2d 536 (1971). It may be noted, however, that the older cases seemed to permit more general language to be effective for a disclaimer and it must also be observed that in the official commentary to section 6201 it is noted that a purpose for its enactment was to “liberalize the property law requirements for a disclaimer so that legitimate attempts to avoid taxes on unwanted gifts will not be frustrated by property law provisions that are stricter than those required for tax purposes.”

Counsel for Arthur Kuhns has drawn the court’s attention to two cases from other jurisdictions which allegedly shed light on this issue. We find the case of Winkler v. Bauman, 452 N.Y. Supp. 2d. 440 (1982) to be inapposite to the present situation. The case of Faught v. Estate of Faught, 730 S.W.2d 323 (Tenn. 1987), however, is a case factually similar to the case at bar. The difficulty of use of the Faught case to resolve the present matter, however, is that [426]*426the Faught opinion deals with a disclaimer statute which is different in an important respect from section 6201 of the Pennsylvania Estate Code. The Tennessee statute interpreted in Faught required that the disclaimer “describe the property or part thereof or interest therein renounced.” Id. at 324. One of the reasons the court refused to acknowledge the disclaimer in Faught was its failure to describe the property disclaimed. Id.

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Related

In Re Estate of Brojack
467 A.2d 1175 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1983)
Faught v. Estate of Faught
730 S.W.2d 323 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1987)
Becker Estate
43 A.2d 4 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1945)

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Bluebook (online)
4 Pa. D. & C.4th 422, 1989 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kuhns-estate-pactcomplwestmo-1989.