Making Millions: The Default Estate Plan and Estranged Parents in Pennsylvania
Many young adults assume there is no reason for them to have a will, especially if they don’t have significant assets or a spouse/kids. They may not realize that this means that estranged family members may have the right to pursue lawsuits or otherwise collect on their death if they should pass away.
Several years ago, a 26-year-old apprentice glass worker, Raheem Johnson, died in surgery after falling 85 feet on a construction site. Although this was a work-related death, there was negligence alleged on the part of other contractors that were not his employer, so it was possible to pursue a third-party liability claim against the company whose crew removed the platform guardrail and the companies responsible for site safety and training.
But Raheem had died without a will. Who could pursue the claim and collect on any settlement or judgment?
Pennsylvania has a process for administering an estate when someone has died intestate, meaning without a valid will. Raheem had been unmarried and without children. His mother had a substance abuse problem in his youth, abandoning him several times and allegedly lacking basic parental concern for him. He had two half-siblings, and they attempted to obtain the right to administer his estate and pursue the wrongful death and survival action.
After his siblings petitioned for Letters of Administration, they filed a Caveat alleging that the decedent’s mom had forfeited her right to administer and inherit the estate by deserting him when he was a minor. His mother fought this.
Pennsylvania does have a forfeiture statute, intended in part to prevent a parent from financial windfall resulting from the death of a minor child. 20 Pa.C.S. § 2106(b). However, once that child becomes an adult and is competent to execute a will, that statute no longer prevents the parent from being a beneficiary or controlling the estate.
The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, Orphans’ Division, found that the half-siblings’ claim was inferior to the mother’s claim under the intestacy structure of 20 Pa.C.S. § 2103, and that they lacked standing to nominate an administrator because they had no financial interest in the intestate estate according to the statute and caselaw.
The court opinion explains, “Poor a mother as she was, and indeed, she was, and as sad the story of Raheem’s early years, it is of no moment today because the mother's abandonment of the decedent during his minority does not trigger the Forfeiture statute and cannot be the basis to displace [his mother] from her rightful position as administrator.” In re Estate of Johnson, 2005 Phila. Ct. Com. Pl. LEXIS 606 (September 13, 2005).
“Had the decedent, a competent adult, wished to exclude his mother from inheriting his estate or from administering his estate upon his death, either due to her ill treatment of him when he was a minor or for any other reason, he was legally entitled to contract and was free to appoint an executor and execute a last will and testament to dispose of his estate.” Id.
It was also noted that the mother acknowledged her substance abuse problem that had affected her parenting of her child when he was a minor, and that she had since achieved stability and maintained residence and employment for several years without ongoing substance abuse, so her prior issues were insufficient to justify disqualification of her as administrator.
“While anyone reading the transcript would likely be seared by the heat of the palpable ill will between [mother] and the surviving family members, this ill will does not alter the preferred statutory right in [mother] or elevate the half-siblings in litigation with [mother] out of their inferior statutory class to administer the decedent's estate.” Id.
The wrongful death and survival claim against the other contractors ended up settling for $3.1 million, with only Raheem’s parents – from whom he had allegedly remained estranged until his passing – collecting the benefits.
For more information on Pennsylvania’s default estate plan for people without wills, how to contractually choose who can act on your behalf, questions on wills/trusts, or questions on when a work injury might result in a negligence lawsuit in addition to a workers’ compensation claim, contact Attorney Anne Hunter or schedule an appointment with Workers & Wills PLLC.
Workers & Wills PLLC is a law firm based in Peckville, Pennsylvania and can be reached at (570) 343-4614 or help@workersandwills.com