CLAIM AGAINST AN ESTATE MUST BE TIMELY FILED AND RELIANCE ON ESTATE COUNSEL IS NOT EXCUSE
Respondent’s lack of knowledge about the statutory requirements for filing a notice of claim against an estate, set forth in 20 Pa.C.S. 3532, and her reliance on estate counsel did not excuse the requirement to file such a claim within one year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters. The court granted petitioner’s motion to refuse respondent’s notice of claim.
Decedent Leonard Martin, Sr. died on Jan. 20, 2019. He was survived by three children, daughters Rebecca Martin and Beverly Martin-Gross and son Leonard J. Martin, Jr. The decedent died testate leaving a last will and testament dated Jan. 10, 2019. The will, which directed that the residue and remainder of the estate be distributed evenly between decedent’s three children, was admitted to probate on Jan. 29, 2019. The Adams County Register of Wills granted letters testamentary to Beverly and respondent Judy West as co-executrixes. The estate filed a Pennsylvania inheritance tax return with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue in early October 2019. West signed the inheritance tax return, which designated the beneficiaries as decedent’s three children. West, respondent herein, filed a notice of claim against the estate, pursuant to 20 Pa.C.S. 3532, on Aug. 25, 2020. Leonard Jr., petitioner herein, filed a motion to refuse West’s notice of claim as untimely. Here, the orphan’s court treated petitioner’s motion as a preliminary objection to the notice of claim in accordance with Pennsylvania Orphans’ Court Rule 3.9. Under 3532, a claimant must make a claim known to the estate within one year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters, the court explained. According to petitioner, West’s notice of claim was not timely filed because the claim was known to her and was not made within one year after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters. The completion of the advertisement of the grant of letters occurred on March 8, 2019. West did not file her notice of claim until August 25, 2020, more than 17 months after the first complete advertisement of the grant of letters. As co-executrix of the estate, West was aware of the dates of the grant of letters, the court observed. She did not dispute the application of 3532, but argued that she was not aware of the statutory requirements and relied on counsel for the estate to inform her of all statutory requirements. West’s failure to know the statutory requirements and her reliance on estate counsel did not excuse the requirements to file a claim within one year, the court observed in finding that the notice of claim was untimely.
Ref: Digests of Recent Opinion, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, 44 PLW 225, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, In re: Estate of L. Martin, Sr., PICS Case No. 221-0174 (C.P. Adams, Jan. 7, 2021)
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